What Doesn't Kill You
by danceisthewindowtoyoursoul
Summary: Their father might be dead, but the lives of Jade and her little sister, Ruby, are far from normal. Follow them as they face the challenges of being famous, raising families, all while still trying to forget the nightmare that is their past. *Continuation of my "Ruby"series, sort of like an epilogue*
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all. So I had this idea awhile ago and I figured since _Ruby_ was fairly well received, I'd run with it. I know the series ended about a year and a half ago, and I did those kinda "deleted scenes" inbetween then and now, but I really want to do this. So I hope you enjoy this. This first chapter is a prologue to catch you up between the end of the series and around the time of the epilogue of the final story. Remember, Ruby's livechat took place in 2022. And s/o to sshaw101 for the awesome cover art!**

* * *

_December 31st, 2019_

_Ruby's POV _

"TWO MINUTES!" The MC on stage yells into the microphone, and the crowd around us begins to cheer.

"Two minutes." I smile up at Trevor, who has his arms wrapped around my waist from behind me.

We're standing in the middle of Times Square in New York, it's well below freezing, I can see my breath and I can't feel my toes, but we've seen so many great performers tonight, Taylor Swift, Cat Valentine, One Direction, Justin Timberlake, and best of all, I get to spend New Year's with him.

"10...9...8...7..6" The crowd chants, and Trevor's hands slip away, presumably so he can kiss me at midnight "5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

"Happy New Year!" I exclaim and turn to kiss Trevor, but he's gone.

"Ruby!" I hear him shout over the crowd's screaming

I look down to see my boyfriend on one knee...holding a ring.

"WILL YOU MARRY ME?" He yells

"YES!" I yell back

The people around us notice and begin to cheer as he stands up, sliding the ring on my hand.

"HEY SHE SAID YES!" Someone screams

I wrap my arms around his neck and he picks me up and spins me around.

"I love you!" I whisper to him

"I love you too!"

* * *

_May 13th, 2020_

_Ruby's POV _

"Just sign on the dotted line, Ruby." Andre smiles "Prepare to change your future."

He slides the contract and pen across the desk to me.

"You really think I have what it takes?" I ask him one final time.

"Kiddo. I've _known_ you have what it takes since I heard you sing at the showcase your freshman year." He laughs "I wouldn't be offering you all of this if I wasn't one hundred percent confident in you."

"Alright." I blush and pick up the fountain pen and adjusting the contact in front of me.

_Ruby Kaitlyn West _I sign.

Thats it. It's official. I just signed my first record deal.

"Alright!" Andre cheers, standing up and extending his hand to me "I'm looking forward to working with you!"

"Same." I smile and shake his hand

"I'll be in touch soon." he informs me "We have lots to do before we start recording. You know, brainstorming, publicity stuff, but first up is going to be finding you a backing band."

"I can't wait!" I exclaim "And about that band...I think I know a guitarist."

* * *

_September 5th, 2020_

_Ruby's POV _

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we have gathered together to celebrate the marriage of these two people." The priest says "Marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, who trust each other, who honor one another as individuals in that togetherness, and who wish to spend rest of their lives with each other. It enables the two separate souls to share their desires, longings, dreams, joys and sorrows, and to help each other through all uncertainties of life."

The church is beautiful, all decorated in light pink and white. Jade and Talia look amazing in their bridesmaid dresses and Sophie, adorable in her flower girl dress, standing next to her mother. To my left are the groomsmen, Beck, Trevor's brother Derek, and his college roommate, Connor.

"Trevor, do you take Ruby to be your wife, your partner in life and your one true love? Will you cherish her friendship and love her today, tomorrow and forever? Will you trust and honor her, laugh with her and cry with her? Will you be faithful through good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Trevor grins.

"Ruby, do you take Trevor to be your husband, your partner in life and your one true love? Will you cherish his friendship and love him today, tomorrow and forever? Will you trust and honor him, laugh with him and cry with him? Will you be faithful through good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"The wedding ring symbolizes unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end. And today Trevor and Ruby exchange these rings as confirmation of their vows to join their lives, to work at all times to create a life that is complete and unbroken and to love each other unconditionally. Trevor, take this ring and place it on your bride's finger, and state your pledge to her, repeating after me:"

"With this ring I thee wed.  
I offer you my hand, and my heart as I know they will be safe with you.  
All that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you." He grins and slides the gold band onto my finger.

"Ruby" the priest says turning now to hand me Trevor's ring "take this ring and place it on your groom's finger, and state your pledge to him, repeating after me"

"With this ring I thee wed.  
I offer you my hand, and my heart as I know they will be safe with you.  
All that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you." I smile, and slide the ring onto his finger.

"Until now Ruby and Trevor have spent each moment of their lives as separate individuals. But from this day on, and every day after this day shall be shared and spent as one. By the power enthroned in me, by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride." The priest states

Trevor takes me in his arms and kisses me. We're not making out, but it's more than a little peck.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Trevor Samuels."

His mom starts to cry, and when I look over, I see Jade is crying too.

* * *

_January 2nd, 2021_

_Ruby's POV _

The roar of the crowd is deafening, even from backstage.

Even now, it doesn't feel real yet. That I have an album. An album that's number two on the billboard top 100. That there's a crowd of screaming fans, waiting to see me.

"Hey." Trevor says, resting a hand on my shoulder as I insert my ear pieces "You'll be amazing. I know it."

He gives me a quick peck on the lips before a handler whisks him away and over towards the stage.

Another handler comes and ushers me to the tunnel that will lead me to the platform underneath the stage.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen one minute to showtime!" The tour manager yells.

The band on stage begins to play the instrumentals of my first song and the roar of the crowd becomes louder, which I didn't think was possible.

I fiddle nervously with my pink bedazzled microphone, tossing it back and forth from hand to hand. I think about, Beck and Jade, sitting in the front row with Sophie, and about how everything I've ever worked for has prepared me for this.

My first live concert.

The ten second countdown begin and my platform begins to rise up to the stage. The light is blinding, the crowd, deafening. Here goes nothing...

"Hello Los Angeles! Who's ready to party!?"

* * *

_December 24th, 2021 _

_Ruby's POV _

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I admit.

I look to Trevor for reassurance, but I find none. He grips my hand tightly, but his face is blank and pale.

"Trev?" I choke, hoping to get some response

"You're sure?" He asks the doctor

"I'my one hundred percent positive." He says sympathetically.

When I took the pregnancy test last week, we we're thrilled to pieces when it came back positive. So when I made the doctors appointment, we we're expecting it to be normal, or as close to normal as you can get. The last thing we we're expecting was...

"Oh my god." I breathe "Triplets."

* * *

_May 14th, 2022_

_Ruby's POV _

"JADE!" I yell "JADE!"

"I heard you the first seven times!" She exclaims walking into my bedroom "What's the matter?"

"Can I have some more vitamin water?" I ask, holding up my glass "Please?"

"Yeah yeah." She sighs, taking the glass from me and exiting the room again.

"I LOVE YOU!" I yell after her

"YEAH I KNOW!" She yells back.

I'm on bed rest, and it sucks. I can't do anything except lay in bed all day, which is really terrible when Trevor has meetings or errands to run. Luckily, I have my sister to keep me company.

"Thanks so much." I smile when Jade returns with my glass

"No problem." She assures me and lays down on the bed next to me, flipping on the TV.

A few months ago, we found out Trevor and I are having two boys and a little girl. They most likely started out as fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, but the boy's egg split to become identical boys instead, resulting in the three babies. We had a premature labor scare a few weeks ago, which is very common with multiples. So my doctor out me on bed rest to try to bring me as close as possible to my due date of July 25th, but everyone knows I won't make it that long. And honestly, the sooner, the better.

"I'm so done being pregnant!" I groan.

"Ha!" She smirks "Now you know how I felt."

I grab her hand and place it on my belly so she can feel the three very active babies moving around inside me.

"Try having three." I say flatly.

"Point taken." she laughs

* * *

_July 29th, 2022_

_Ruby's POV_

"Hey everybody!" I smile into the camera "Ruby Samuels here! How's everybody's day goin'?"

I'm doing a twit cam from the living room of my house in L.A, since that's what celebrities do for their fans.

"So!" I begin "Let's start this thing off right shall we? Tweet me your questions with the hashtag #q&amp;awithruby and I'll try to answer as many as I can!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Ruby's POV_

"Finally." I sigh as I close the bathroom door quietly behind me.

All three of the babies are asleep early tonight, and now I can enjoy a nice relaxing shower. My last chance before we leave for my new tour.

I plug my phone into the stereo system in the bathroom and step into the shower. When I turn it on, the rush of warm water all over my body provides immediate stress relief, and all my worries melt away temporarily.

Tour wardrobes, setlists, diets, P90X programs, promotions, and screaming babies are the farthest thing from my mind.

"_Dear future husband, here's a few things you'll need to know if you want to be my one and only all my life_" I sing along to the music blasting from the speakers as I rub shampoo into my hair "_Dear future husband, if you wanna get that special lovin', tell me I'm beautiful each and every night_"

"Future husband!?" Trevor exclaims, startling me "What happened to me?"

I turn around to see my husband standing, naked, in the shower behind me.

"Its just a song, babe." I smile and wipe some soap on his nose before turning around to wash the shampoo out "You're my one and only. Don't worry."

"I better be." He laughs as he wraps his arms around my waist and begins kissing my neck, only stopping when the shampoo washing off my head runs into his mouth.

"That's what you get for interrupting my shower." I chuckle as he tries to wash his mouth out under the stream of water. "Woah babe, excited to see me?"

"Huh?" He looks confused

I glance down and then back at him

"Oh." He laughs, and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him "You bet."

He begins kissing me, pushing me up against the wall as he does so. The tile is cold on my bare skin at first, but I ignore it.

"I guess...now...would be...a bad time...to...tell you...my sister...is gonna be here...in fifteen...minutes..." I gasp between kisses.

"Aw come on!" He groans and pulls away

"Hey I'm not saying we have to stop." I smile and pull him back towards me "I'm just saying we have to be quick."

"I can do quick." He shrugs and we continue

* * *

"You two having fun up there?" Jade asks when Trevor and I walk downstairs about half an hour later

Shes sitting on a couch in our living room, flipping through a baby name book.

"How long have you been here?" I ask her

"About twenty minutes." She sighs

oops. So much for making it quick.

"Sorry Jade." Trevor apologizes "We lost track of time."

"Yeah that's what happened." She smirks

"Whatever." I sigh and sit down on the couch next to her "What's up? You said it was some kind of emergency...?"

"I hate the name Logan!" She exclaims

"Woah hey, okay." I defend "Calm down."

Pregnancy hormones and mood swings. Gotta love em.

"I can't calm down!" She's crying now "I changed my mind but it's too late now because my kid already announced it to the world on your live stream!"

"Trevor, honey. I think I hear Aaron crying. Will you go check on him please?" I ask

"I don't hear anything." He shrugs, looking confused.

"Just go check on them, please." I sigh

"Got it." He nods, having finally understood

"So what happened?" I ask once Trevor has disappeared upstairs again "Why the baby name panic all of a sudden?"

"I don't know!" She cries "I just don't like the name Logan anymore! It's a boys name! She'll get made fun of and it'll be all my fault! _And_ she's gonna be here in less than a month and I don't know what to do!"

"Just keep looking!" I encourage, holding up the baby name book she had just been reading.

"Don't you think I've looked?" she scoffs "it's impossible!"

"Didn't you name Sophie in labor?" I ask

"Well yeah...but I don't want to wait that long this time!"

"Have you talked to Beck?"

"No..." She sighs "He was at work all day and I came over here as soon as he got home."

"Why don't you talk to him about it before you start freaking out like this?" I suggest

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." she chuckles "Im sorry for freaking out, baby sister."

"Don't worry about it." I assure her "It's what I'm here for."

"Have you finished packing?" She asks

"Pshh! No." I scoff "I won't be finished packing until we leave."

"Well, don't let me keep you!" She insists as she stands up, presumably to leave

"You can stay if you want!" I tell her "Really, I'm not gonna see you for a while after tomorrow!"

"Nah, I have a house to clean, a baby to name, a waiting husband, and a little girl who needs help with her math homework." She sighs "Oh! And a script to finish."

"It never stops." I laugh

"And it never will." She agrees as we move towards the entryway

I hug her and then open the door for her

"Have fun with your husband." She winks as she makes her way down the front walk "But not too much fun!"

"I should say the same for you!" I call to her as she opens the door to her car

She flicks me off, and I return the gesture, laughing as she honks and pulls down the drive. I close the door behind me and return upstairs to finish packing.

* * *

"I'm gonna miss you so much Aunt Ruby!" Sophie cries into my shoulder

"Don't worry Soph. I'll be back when your baby sister is born. Okay?"

"Kay." She sighs and turns to walk back to her parents

We're standing on the runway at LAX. The babies, all asleep, Trevor and I are getting ready to board a jet to London to kick off the start of my second tour. Three shows in London, two in Dublin, one in Glasgow, one in Antwerp, one in Amsterdam, one in Berlin, one in Milan,two in Paris and then two in Barcelona finish up the European leg. Then two shows in Toyko, and then one in Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth, Australia. All followed by a short break (strategically planned around Jade's due date), then the American shows.

"Call me tonight, okay?" Jade tells me as she pulls me into a hug

"I will. I promise."

"And take good care of those little ones." She smiles, gesturing to the babies fast asleep in their car seats

"I will." I repeat "You take care of your little ones. And let me know as soon as you come up with a new name!"

Apparently Logan Michelle Oliver is no longer in the running for baby names.

"I will." She smiles

"Promise?" I ask, holding up my pinkie finger

"Promise!" She laughs, wrapping her pinkie around mine.

"Alright alright time to go!" Trevor calls to me, picking up Aaron and Jonah's car seats and heading towards the plane.

"Okay!" I laugh as I pick up Olivia's car seat and turn to follow my husband

"Ruby Kaitlyn!" Beck calls after me

"What?" I groan, turning around

"Forgetting someone?" He says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Sorry." I laugh as I run back to give my brother-in-law a hug

"Be safe okay?" He tells me "And keep an eye on Trevor, who knows what he'll get into."

"Don't worry." I laugh "I will."

I finish saying goodbye, then I board the plane, baby seat in tow.

Once the car seats are strapped in and the babies are all sucking happily on pacifiers, I take my seat next to Trevor.

"Ready?" He smiles, taking my hand and weaving his fingers in between mine

"Ready." I grin


	3. Chapter 3

_Ruby's POV_

I wake up in an unfamiliar place.

At first, I panic. But I calm down once I realize Trevor is in bed asleep next to me.

We arrived in London two days ago, and my days have been mainly filled with tour preparations, interviews, and the occasional sightseeing. Tonight is my first show at the O2 Arena. I'm definitely feeling a strong emotion, but I can't yet tell if it's excited or nervous.

I roll over and grab my phone of the bedside table, yawning as I do so. It's 8:30. I technically don't have to be up for another hour, but I can't bring myself to fall back asleep. So, I open my twitter app and send out my first tweet of the day:

**_RubyKaitlyn_**: _It's show day! Cant wait to see all you lovelies at the O2 tonight! #excited_

Trevor still isn't awake, and I honestly don't want to wake him, since he's technically performing tonight as well, so I open up 2048 and try desperately to beat the game, a personal goal I've yet to accomplish. After playing for about 10 minutes or so, I hear the sounds of a soft whimper coming from the other side of the room. One of my babies is awake.

Slipping my phone into the pocket of my sweatpants, I throw the sheets off my body and pad across the room to the three portable cribs we have set up there. Aaron is the one crying.

"Hey buddy." I smile as I lift him out of the crib "Good morning."

He smiles at me as I rest him on my hip and move to the couch to change his diaper, trying my hardest not to wake the three other sleeping people in the room. When he's dressed again, I pick him up and grab my wallet.

"C'mon Bud." I whisper "Let's go try and find Mommy and Daddy some coffee."

* * *

"I think I'll open in this one tonight." I say coming out of the changing area in my dressing room.

I'm wearing a long sleeved, dark purple shirt and a pair of black high-waisted shorts.

"It looks great." Julia smiles, bouncing Olivia in her lap "What do you think, Livy? Hm? Doesn't Mommy look pretty?"

_Mommy_. I'm not used to that.

Olivia smiles up at me, then goes back to chewing on her fist like she was before.

"See?" Julia laughs "She agrees with me."

Julia is engaged to one of the band members, Zach. She's going to be the one responsible for my babies while Trevor and I are on stage, obviously because we can't be two places at the same time.

"Knock knock!" I hear Trevor yell from outside the door "You decent in there?"

"Yeah come on in!" I yell back "Like he cares if I'm decent anyway..."

Trevor enters the room holding Jonah, following behind him is Zach with Aaron, Mitch, and Drew. All six of them wear the same outfit.

"Well?" My husband asks, turning slowly so I can admire his outfit "What do you think of the official Ruby Samuels Back-Up-Band Tour Outfit?"

Each guy wears a pair of black converse, a pair of dark wash blue jeans, a light blue dress shirt rolled up to the elbows with a bright red tie, under a dark grey vest.

"I love it!" I exclaim, the stylists did an amazing job "Where on earth did you find outfits for the boys?"

"Wasn't that hard!" He shrugs "it's amazing what you can find on the internet."

Just then my phone, sitting on my vanity table, springs to life. Vibrating and blaring the lyrics to Reba's "My Sister, My Friend."

"It's Jade!" Everyone in the room seems to say at once

"Oh shut up!" I laugh and answer "Hey sis, what's up?"

"Hi baby sister!" I can practically hear her smiling "I just wanted to wish you luck!"

"Thanks!" I say "I wish you could be here to watch!"

"Me too kiddo, me too. But your baby niece isn't gonna allow that this time around."

"How are you feeling?" I ask

"Okay." She chuckles "But I'm done. I want this kid out."

"I know _that_ feeling."

Seven and a half months with triplets is an experience I'll _never_ forget.

"Oh Jade. You should see the outfits the boys are wearing right now!" I gasp "They match the band!"

"Send a picture!" She demands

"Alright, but I'm gonna have to let you go soon, we have some last minute stuff to go through before dinner."

"Alright, Rube. Break a leg! Love you!"

"Love you too!"

* * *

"Hello London!" I exclaim "Is everybody having a good time?"

The roar of the crowd increases significantly.

"AHHHH!" I mimic them "Good! I'm glad!"

"I LOVE YOU!" A male voice yells somewhere near the front row

"Aw thanks!" I blush "I love you too!"

"Hey!" Trevor exclaims

"Oh stop it you." I giggle "Calm down."

"_Everybody wanna steal my girl, Everybody wanna take her heart away, Couple billion in the whole wide world, Find another one 'cause she belongs to__ me._.." Trevor sings into his microphone before the rest of the band starts to sing and play along with him "_Everybody wanna steal my girl, Everybody wanna take her heart away, Couple billion in the whole wide world, Find another one 'cause she belongs to__ me!_"

"Are you finished?" I laugh

"_She belongs to me!_" He sings "Okay. Now I'm done."

"Now that we've had that _wonderful_ intermission..." I laugh "Let's keep things rolling shall we? Here's a song off my first album I think everyone will know..."


	4. Chapter 4

_Ruby's POV_

"_And she destroys me in that t-shirt, And I love her so much it hurts, I never meant to fall like this, She don't just rain she pou__rs.._." I sing as the hot water from my morning shower sprays all over my body "_That girl right there's, The perfect storm.._."

I hear the bathroom door open and Trevor steps in

"Hey babe?"

"Yes dear?" I sing-song

"Not that I don't enjoy listening to you sing, but your children are hungry and I can't feed all three of them at a time."

"Alright." I laugh and shut the water off "I'll be out in a minute."

I step out and wrap a towel around me and after drying off, getting dressed, and throwing my hair into a quick messy bun, I walk out into the hotel room to join my family.

Trevor has Aaron and Jonah propped up against the pillows on the bed so they don't choke on the milk. He's holding a bottle in each hand, and both babies are eating. I walk over and grab the third bottle of the table, then lift Olivia out of her pac-n-play.

"Good morning Livy baby!" I coo "Did Daddy already get you dressed?"

"Isn't Daddy awesome?" Trevor smiles

I smile back at him, then move to the couch and begin to feed my daughter her bottle.

"Are you ready to get on the airplane, Livy?" I ask "Are you ready to go to France?"

I'm honestly very excited to go to France. We've already played the first nine shows of the tour, all over Europe. But I remember from my last tour that Paris was my favorite. Just something about the city, I'm not sure what.

"I think Mommy is ready to go to France." Trevor smirks as he finishes up feeding the boys and places them in their car seats "Is Mommy done packing?"

"No!" I scoff

"Then give me the baby and go finish up so we don't miss the flight!" He suggests

I hand Olivia off to him, then return to the bathroom and finish packing up my toiletries.

* * *

"Oh Jonah, baby boy." I try to soothe my crying son as I pace up and down the jet's isle "It's okay, you're okay."

Flying with babies. Gotta love it.

The first flight from Los Angles to London was the worst, because all three of the cried and screamed their heads off for a good hour to two hours, and Trevor and I were the only ones on the private jet. Luckily though, the second flight to Germany and now this flight to France, the band and their families are also on board, so we have the extra help if we need it. Thankfully, Aaron seems content just sitting in his car seat playing with a toy, and Olivia is fast asleep in hers, both of them sucking on pacifiers.

Jonah, however, will not stop crying long enough to keep his pacifier in his mouth. And nothing I've been doing seems to help him calm down.

"Here," Trevor sighs handing me a freshly made bottle "See if the swallowing helps with the pressure build up."

"Thank you." I say quietly, taking the bottle from him "Jonah baby, you wanna try some milk? Hm?"

I sit back down in my seat and cradle him in my right arm, holding the bottle with my left.

"Shhhh." I try to calm him "Shhh, it's okay."

He continues to scream and won't allow me to put the bottle in his mouth.

"Jonah..." I sigh "Baby you're okay!"

The crying continues, so I place the bottle in the cup holder and bring him to my shoulder like I had him before.

"_Would you let me see beneath you're beautiful? Would you let me see beneath you're perfect?_" I sing to him "_Take it off now, boy, take it off now, boy, I wanna see inside, Would you let me see beneath you're beautiful tonight, oh, toni__ght_?"

The singing hasn't quieted him down completely, but it's reduced him to a soft whimper. So I cradle him again, and this time, he allows me to slip the bottle right into his mouth. He begins drinking and after a while his eyes start to become heavy. Eventually, he's asleep.

"Ruby Samuels." Trevor smirks from his seat across the isle from mine "The baby whisperer."

* * *

"Isn't it beautiful?" I ask as Trevor and I stand on our balcony of our Paris hotel room later that night. We have the perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, all lit up.

"Tu as mal à tête." He smiles at me and nuzzles his face into my neck

"What did you just say?" I laugh

"I said _you're_ beautiful." He whispers

"No." I chuckle "You told me that I have a headache."

"No I didn't." He defends

"Trevor. I took four years of French in high school and two in college, you won't win this argument."

"Fine Miss Smarty Pants!" He teases "I'd like to see you come up with something better."

"Voulez vous coucher avec moi, Monsieur Samuels?" I muse, the step back away from him, re-entering the hotel suite.

Creeping past the three babies asleep I their cribs, I go into the bedroom, Trevor follows, closing the door behind him.

"You gonna tell me what you just said?" He asks

"Take a guess." I tell him, biting my lip and unbuttoning the flannel shirt I'm wearing, letting it drop to the floor.

"I'm not really sure..." he smiles, moving closer to me "but I like the looks of this."

He pushes me backwards onto the bed and throws himself on top of me, kissing me softly and slowly.

"Je t'aime." I smile as he pulls his shirt off, and I run my hand along his rock hard abs, and then a little lower to something else that is also, rock hard.

"See that." He whispers as he undoes my jeans and slides them off "I know what that means."


	5. Chapter 5

_Ruby's POV_

"Barcelonaaaaaa!" I yell into the microphone "Is everyone having a good time?"

My question is met with the immediate roar of the crowd.

"I'm glad." I smile "Now I think it's time to introduce some pretty fantastic people."

I walk down the catwalk and back onto the main stage

"Let's give it up for the band!" I exclaim "Over here on the keyboard we have Mr. Mitch Hines!"

The crowd cheers as Mitch smiles and begins playing the next song on his keyboard.

"Over here to my right it's Drew Stevens on bass guitar!"

Drew begins to play as well.

"On the drums, give it up for Zach Skate!"

Zach hits the pedal on the bass drum and the stage becomes instantly louder when he joins in playing with Drew and Mitch.

"And finally, over here to my right..." the crowd goes insane because they know exactly who I'm going to introduce "The greatest guitar player any diva could ever ask for...my husband, Mr. Trevor Samuels!"

"Hola Barcelona!" he laughs into the microphone as he begins to play

"Let's go!" I yell as we start the next song

* * *

"Yo! Ruby!" Trevor yells from the main part of the hotel room "You've got a skype call!"

"Just a second!" I yell back as I finish changing Olivia's diaper "Come on Livy baby, let's go see who's on the computer."

I pick the baby up and rest her on my hip as I walk out of the bedroom and see Trevor talking to someone on the laptop that's sitting on the coffee table.

"Hey here she is!" He smiles as I sit down next to him

"Aunt Ruby!" Sophie exclaims on the computer screen

"Hi Soph!" I smile at her "I miss you!"

"I miss you more!" She groans "When are you coming home?"

"When your sister is born!" I tell her

"How long is that?" She asks

"HOPEFULLY REALLY SOON!" Jade yells from somewhere in the background

"Are you being good for Mommy, Miss Sophie Marie?" I ask her as I kiss the top of Olivia's head.

"Yes." she rolls her eyes

"Hey now kiddo," Trevor laughs "The more you behave the better mood Mommy is in."

"I heard that!"

"You were meant to!"

"Sophie, sweetie, put Mommy on." I tell her

"Okay! Mommy! Aunt Ruby wants to talk to you!"

A few seconds later, Jade appears in the frame behind Sophie.

"Soph did you finish your homework?" She asks her daughter

"No." Sophie says shyly

"Why don't you go finish it while I talk to Aunt Ruby?"

"Okay." Sophie groans and hops out of the chair she had been sitting in "Bye Aunt Ruby, bye Uncle T, bye Livy! Love you!"

"Love you too." Trevor and I say in unison

"Hey baby sister." Jade sighs as she sits down in the chair where Sophie had been sitting

"Hey." I say sympathetically "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." she laughs "And done being pregnant."

"Well you've felt that way for a while."

"Yeah I know." She smiles "Jeez, I've gotta take care of the house, and the kid, and try to finish this script by the time the baby comes, AND be pregnant."

"At least it's only one." I remind her

"Yeah." She chuckles "At least it's only one."

"How's Beck?" I ask, stroking Livy's hair

"He's good. He should be home soon actually, I'm surprised he's not yet."

"IM HOME!" Beck yells

"Just kidding." Jade laughs "ON THE COMPUTER!"

"Hey!" he says entering the room "Whatcha doin?"

"Talking to Ruby and Trevor." She tells him "Say hi."

"Hi kiddo!" Beck waves, appearing next to Jade

"Hi Beck." I roll my eyes, I never did quite grow out of 'kiddo'

"Hey. As long as I'm older than you, you're kiddo!" He laughs, having sensed my annoyance

"So forever?" I scoff

"Exactly!"

"DADDY!" Sophie giggles and runs into the room

"Hi Princess!" He greets her, picking her up and spinning her around

"Hey the whole family is here!" Sophie laughs

"Not quite!" Trevor says and reaches down to grab Aaron and Jonah from where they had been playing on the floor, resting one baby on each knee "Now we're all here!"

"We miss you guys!" I tell them

"I guarantee we miss you more." Jade says wide-eyed nodding towards Sophie

"Yeah!" Sophie pouts

"We'll see you soon, though!" I tell them "Promise!"

Theres a beeping sound in the background of their feed

"That's dinner." Jade frowns "We gotta go."

"Can we call back later Mommy?" Sophie asks

"Aw Soph I have a show tonight." I tell her

"And you have ballet." Jade reminds her

"Oh yeah." She sighs "See you later then I guess."

"We love you, Sophie!" Trevor tells her

"I love you too!" She smiles

"Bye!" Everyone says in unison, and then the call ends.


	6. Chapter 6

_**PopTiger Magazine Australia Brings You and Exclusive Interview With International Pop-Superstar, Ruby Samuels! **_

_**She Dishes on Being a Mom, a wife, and Keeping in Touch on Tour! **_

Pop Tiger: _Did you always know this is what you wanted to do with your life? Has your focus always been performing? _

Ruby: _Subconsciously I think yes. But I definitely experimented a lot in high school. I did a few plays, I sang in our big showcase every year. My junior and senior year I was on the dance team and I ran track and field. I was my husband, Trevor's personal cheerleader at all his baseball games...not that its relevant but... _

Pop Tiger: _How and when did you meet your husband Trevor?_

Ruby: _We met at the very end of our freshman year of high school, at my older sister's graduation ceremony. His older brother was also graduating. He just came over and sat down next to me, we started talking and I don't know, things just...clicked. It's hard to believe that was ten years ago, it feels like it was only yesterday._

Pop Tiger: _So you have your siblings to thank, technically?_

Ruby: _I guess you could say that, yeah. I actually have my sister to thank for a lot of things, I don't know where I'd be without her._

Pop Tiger: _How so?_

Ruby: _Well, she basically raised me from freshman year up until I left for college. It's a long personal story with details I'm not yet ready to share with the world...but I really admire her. She sacrificed so much trying to take care of my niece and I, and she always encouraged me to keep striving to try and reach my goals, I honestly don't know where I'd be without her._

Pop Tiger: _Are you two still close?_

Ruby: _Of course! I text her constantly, we talk on the phone at least once a week, and I skype with her and her daughter when ever I can. She's my best friend next to Trevor, and I miss her terribly when I'm away for long stretches of time. Luckily, after we finish up my shows here in Australia, we have a couple weeks off before we start the North American leg, so we'll get to be home for a while._

Pop Tiger: _That's a lot of traveling to be doing. What's it like traveling with newborn triplets?_

Ruby: _Well technically, they're not newborns. Jeez I don't know if I could handle touring having just had them. They're five months old now. And as for traveling, it's pretty hit or miss. When we're on a bus, which we usually are, it's not so bad. We can set up their pac-n-plays for when they sleep, and they're still little enough that they don't really need much to keep them entertained. Flying however, is a completely different story. The first time we took them on a plane was a nightmare! They screamed and cried for about two to three hours until they exhausted themselves and fell asleep. Luckily, they've gotten used to it now, so it's not as hard. They still don't enjoy it, but they're more calm._

Pop Tiger: _I think we're all dying to know, how on earth did you get back into such great shape after you had the babies?_

Ruby: _Lots and LOTS of hard work, haha. I did P90X for a good three months straight, I went running every morning, and I ate right. Anything is possible if you're dedicated enough! Plus, running around taking care of three babies all the time has it's exercise benefits as well!_

Pop Tiger: _Did your due date have any influence on the tour?_

Ruby: _Kinda, but not really. When I found out I was pregnant, we'd already set a release date for my second album. The date was close enough that if I pushed it back, the fans would be extremely upset, and there's nothing I hate more than disappointing my fans. They're 75% of the reason I'm where I am today, and I do everything in my power to give all that dedication back to them. So we kept everything as it was. I went out and I was promoting the album while I was pregnant. Other women have done the same thing, so I didn't see why I couldn't. The tour dates were somewhat effected, but maybe by only a couple weeks or so. I didn't want anything to have to change._

Pop Tiger: _What was your reaction when you found out there were three babies instead of just the anticipated one?_

Ruby: _I was so scared! I really don't know how else I can describe it. I was like "I was worried about having to handle one! How on earth am i going to take care of three!?" But I knew I'd have Trevor by my side the entire way, and he was and continues to be amazing. Our families really helped us out too in the beginning, especially my sister. After a couple months though, we got the hang of it, we're pros._

Pop Tiger: _Have you heard people are saying you could be the next Taylor Swift or Katy Perry?_

Ruby: _I'm actually compared to Taylor Swift a lot actually, and I honestly think it's because our sound is so similar you know? Mainly pop with a little bit of country influence. But when I hear people comparing me to artists like her or Katy, it's surreal to me. Like those are two amazingly incredibly talented artists! People I idolized growing up and still idolize today! Honestly, if I were to meet either one of them, if probably have a fangirls attack. And you're saying I'm good enough to be compare to them? Thats insane. Absolutely no way I'll ever be as good as them. _

Pop Tiger: _One final question. What are your plans for the future? Both personally and musically?_

Ruby: _Well to be honest, I'm not really sure. We're going to start work on a third album at some point, which is really exciting . I love making music, and I'll be doing that until the day I die. As for the rest of life, who knows? We'll see what fate has in store for me._


	7. Chapter 7

_Ruby's POV_

"Ruby! Trevor! Over here!" A paparazzi yells

"How was Europe?" Another one asks

Flash bulbs are blinding as Trevor and I make our way through LAX, heads down, sunglasses on, not saying anything to anyone, with baby car seats in tow.

"Is it true your pregnant again, Ruby?"

"What?" I shriek "No!"

"Babe! Keep walking!" Trevor reminds me

This is the worst part of being a 'celebrity', even though I don't like to think of myself that way. These sleazes show up everywhere, trying to force their way into our personal lives. It's only really terrible when they know we're going to be somewhere, I guess. We can go shopping, or to dinner, and usually we'll be okay. But if something is scheduled and public ahead of time, like an interview or an appearance, then we're screwed. Like today, it was never a secret we were returning home for a while between the European and North American legs of my tour.

A few officers from airport security meet us at the elevators and usher us inside, trying to prevent any nosey reporters or photographers from following us.

"Do you have anything to say, Ruby?" Someone yells

"Nothing at this time." I say sweetly with a fake smile, like I've rehearsed it a million times, which I have.

The doors close and I let out a sigh of relief as I set Jonah's carseat down on the floor next to me.

"You alright, Ms. Samuels?" One of the guards asks me

"I'm fine, thank you." I tell him "And please, call me Ruby."

"Sure, Ruby." He smiles "Your car is waiting at one of the private pick-up zones, but there will probably be more people around still."

"Great." I sigh

"Would you like us to accompany you?" Another guard asks

"Please." Trevor answers "If you wouldn't mind."

"Sure. That's our job!" He assures us as the doors open again

I pick up the baby seat and follow the guards out

"RUBY!"

"TREVOR!"

"WHO DESIGNED YOUR SUNGLASSES?"

"WHEN ARE YOU RELEASING YOUR THIRD ALBUM?"

I keep my head down and keep walking. I try to focus on Jonah, making faces at him as I walk, trying to make him laugh so the noise and flashes don't freak him out too much.

We reach the doors and I'm hit with a blast of warm air.

I missed L.A.

The driver already has the door to the limo open for us, and more security personnel are loading our bags into the back. I set Jonah's seat down and climb inside. When I'm in, Trevor hands a seat in one by one so I can fasten them in safely, then climbs in too, closing the door behind him.

"Was it that crazy during the last one?" I ask him as we sit back in our seats

"Well there was definitely paparazzi..." He sighs "But there's definitely more now."

"Crap..."

"Hey now," he smiles and puts an arm around me as the car pulls away from the curb "That's good! It means you're just becoming more and more popular!"

"Yeah I know." I whisper and lean my head on his chest, "But it never stops being scary."

"I know." He sighs and kisses the top of my head "I know."

* * *

"Goodnight babies. Sleep tight, I love you." I whisper as I close the door to the nursery later that night

I turn and walk down the hallway to the master bedroom, where Trevor is already getting ready for bed, even though it's only 8:00.

"Oh my god! I'm exhausted!" I exclaim and let myself fall down onto our bed "And I missed this bed!"

"I'm so proud of you babe." Trevor smiles "You did fourteen shows in a row without a break!"

"Well thanks for helpin' me." I chuckle, letting my head fall into the pillow when I finish the sentence

"Aw you're welcome. Are you going to shower tonight?" he asks

"Nope!" I exclaim "I'm goin' to bed! Don't wake me up tomorrow unless it's a major emergency!"

"Alright." He laughs and kisses me "Goodnight superstar, I'm still proud of you."

"Thanks." I smirk

"So you're going to sleep in skinny jeans and a crop top?" He chuckles

"Shit!" I yell, probably a little louder than I should

I get up and drag myself over to the dresser, grabbing a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, so I can move to the bathroom attached to the bedroom and change.

"What? Suddenly don't feel comfortable changing in front of me anymore?" He calls after me

"No, I'm just too tired for sex right now!" I call back to him through the door "So the last thing I want to do is get you excited!"

"Too late, superstar!"


	8. Chapter 8

_Ruby's POV_

I press the bell at Beck and Jade's front door ands stand back next to Trevor, waiting for someone to answer.

A minute or so later, a very pregnant, very tired-looking Jade answers.

"Oh my gosh! Hey!" She smiles pulling me into a hug "I missed you guys!"

"I missed you too!" I tell her as I enter the house "Did you tell her we were back yet?"

"No!" Jade tells me "HEY SOPHIE?"

"YEAH?" she responds

"CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE FOR A MINUTE PLEASE?" Jade calls to her

"UHG DO I HAVE TO?"

"THATS FINE." Trevor yells "WE CAN COME BACK LATER!"

Not even seconds later, Sophie appears at the top of the staircase.

"YOU'RE BACK!" She smiles and comes bounding down the stairs

Trevor sets the two car seats he was holding down and runs to the bottom of the stairs. Sophie jumps from the third or fourth step, straight into his arms. He catches her and spins her around a few times before setting her down.

"I missed you, Uncle T!" She giggles

"Hey what am I?" I say, acting hurt by their embrace, even though I'm not.

"Aunt Ruby!" She smiles and runs over to me hugging my waist

"Hey Soph." I greet her and kiss the top of her head "Wow! You're so tall!"

"You weren't gone _that_ long!" She laughs

"You're right." Trevor says "Maybe Aunt Ruby is just shrinking."

"Watch it, you." I warn

"Why are you guys home?" Sophie asks "I thought you said you wouldn't be back until my sister was born."

"Ha!" Jade scoffs and starts walking towards the living room "Yeah well your sister is apparently on her own schedule."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing." Jade rolls her eyes "The baby should be here soon."

"Uncle T! Do you want to watch Frozen with me?" Sophie asks, changing the subject altogether

"Ah! Sophie Marie..." Jade stops her "Is your homework done? You have ballet tonight."

"Yes Mom." She groans "I'll be ready when Daddy gets home."

"Daddy isn't going to take you this time." Jade says

"You are?" She asks

"Well, I was going to.,." Trevor smiles "If that's okay with you."

"Yeah!" Sophie cheers "But you'll still watch Frozen with me right?"

"Uhhhh." He hesitates "Sure."

"Will you keep a baby with you, please?" I ask "To make it a little easier on Jade and me?"

"Can Livy watch Frozen too?" Trevor asks our niece

"Sure!" Sophie squeals and goes to turn the TV on

I pick up the boy's car seats and follow Jade into the kitchen

"If I had a dollar for everytime I've seen Frozen..." She laughs "I'd never have to work again."

"I'm pretty sure you could never work again and have enough money left over to send _Sophie's_ kids to college." I remind her

"Oh hush, you know what I meant."

"Do you need any help?" I ask my sister, watching her reach up into the highest cabinet for a bottle of seasoning

"Nope!" She responds once she's grabbed it "I'm good."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Ruby Kaitlyn." She sighs "I'm sure."

I roll my eyes at the mention of my middle name.

"I saw that!" She exclaims "I had custody of you until you were 21! I can use your middle name if I want to."

"You had custody of me until I was 18." I sneer

"Yeah well you lived in this house until you were 22 so shut up." She reminds me "Chicken or porkchops?"

"Chicken." I say as I pick up a copy of the Australian magazine I was featured in last week that was sitting on the counter "You got one of these?"

"A fan sent it to me." She informs me as she starts cooking the chicken "You mentioned me in your interview."

"Oh yeah." I remember, flipping through the magazine

Aaron starts to whine in his car seat, so I bend down and pick him up bouncing him on my lap.

"Hey bud." I coo

"Hi Aaron!" Jade smiles at him

He grins back to her

"Hi Aunt Jade!" I say in a baby voice

"Awwww, hi!"

"Just think, you'll have another one of these soon." I remind her

"This kid can seriously not come soon enough!" She groans

* * *

"You know, I can't remember the last time I watched this movie." I gesture to the TV screen "Jade?"

I look over to see my sister curled up on the couch next to me, fast asleep.

"JADE!" I yell

She jerks awake and almost falls off the couch, thankfully she doesn't.

"What the hell?" She exclaims, rubbing her eyes

"I was kinda hoping I'd scare you into labor." I admit

"Yeah well, I don't think it worked." She sighs and sits up, turning her attention back to the movie.

"When are the boys going to be back with Sophie?" I ask

"We're back!" Sophie announces as she walks through the door, Trevor and Beck behind her.

"Right now." She sighs

"Sophie, quiet please." I gesture to my three children, asleep in their car seats

"Sorry babies." She whispers to her sleeping cousins "Mommy, we got you ice cream."

"Aw thank you baby." She smiles, taking the ice cream from Sophie and kissing her forehead "Red velvet ice cream? My favorite!"

Beck comes up behind the couch and leans down, kissing the top of Jade's head

"Hey babe?" Trevor says from behind me

"Yeah?" I respond and turn to face him

He smiles and extends an ice cream cup similar to Jade's to me

"Banana ice cream with white chocolate chips and graham crackers?" I smile

He nods

"Thank you babe." I thank him

"Anything for my superstar." He smiles and kisses my cheek


	9. Chapter 9

_Ruby's POV_

"Look at my little avengers!" I coo to the three babies I just finished getting dressed "Happy Halloween babies! This is Auntie Jade's favorite holiday you know."

Trevor insisted we do a family costume this year, and every year until the kids are old enough to protest. However, it's really hard to find creative family halloween costumes for five, especially babies. So we decided on the avengers. Aaron as Iron Man, Jonah as Thor, Olivia as a female Captain America, me as Black Widow and Trevor as...

"Hawkeye's here!" My husband announces bursting into the nursery in his Halloween costume

"Damn babe." I smile, standing up and moving over towards him "You look hot in that uniform."

"You look hotter." He whispers as he wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my neck

"Uh uh." I scold and move away from him "We have to be at Beck and Jade's in thirty minutes and your children are in the room!"

"Whatever." He rolls his eyes "They would've been fine."

"Yeah okay you explain that to them when their older." I laugh as I pick Aaron up, he sneezes "God bless you, Iron Man!"

"He's just the cutest Iron Man!" Trevor coos and plays with our son's hand as I rest him on my hip "Aren't you buddy?"

Aaron smiles, even though he has no idea what his father just said to him. I place him in his car seat and fasten him in, then go to do the same to Olivia, as Trevor is already getting Jonah ready to go.

"Are you ready to have lots of fun tonight, guys?" I ask them

"Hell yeah they are!" Trevor responds

"Hey!" I smack his arm "Stop that! They'll start repeating it soon!"

"They're five months old." He laughs "Let's work on 'mama' and 'dada' first."

"Treebor." I smirk, referencing Sophie's nickname for him when she was first learning to talk and couldn't quite say his name.

"Oobie!" He counters, sticking his tongue out at me.

* * *

"Hiiiiii!" Sophie greets us as she opens the door in her Tinkerbell costume

"Hey Tink!" Trevor exclaims "Trick or Treat!"

"Uncle T! You're silly!" She laughs as we step inside "It's not time to Trick or Treat yet!"

"Well it's almost time!"

"Not until you finish eating!" Jade yells from the kitchen

"Mommy's a loser!" Sophie explains as she goes back to the table to finish her chicken nuggets "She's not dressed up!"

"Well that's because Mommy is nine months pregnant and doesn't want to deal with a costume!" Jade responds "Call me a loser again and your not going trick or treating."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" I ask her

Trevor and I are taking the babies out in their stroller for a while with Beck and Sophie, while Jade stays home to hand out candy.

"If my water is gonna break, I'd prefer it happen in the comfort of my own home rather than the middle of the neighborhood." She explains "Besides, tonight is the one night I can watch The Scissoring and not be judged."

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No Aunt Ruby! Come with me! Pleeeease." Sophie begs

"Go with them." Jade laughs "I'll be fine."

"Yo Tinkerbell!" Beck calls as he comes downstairs "Almost ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Sophie cheers and jumps up from the table.

"Peter." Trevor nods, gesturing to Beck's Peter Pan costume to match Sophie's Tinkerbell

"Hawkeye." Beck returns the gesture

"Nice hat."

"Nice boots."

"Touché."

"Hey! I think his costume is sexy!" I defend "He didn't even need the muscle pads."

Trevor flexes to show off his muscles and I squeeze his bicep.

"You been working out?" I giggle

"Only everyday." He laughs

"You guys are disgusting." Jade says

* * *

"Come on Aunt Ruby!" Sophie calls to me "Lets go!"

"Yeah Aunt Ruby!" Beck imitates his daughter's tone

I turn around and stick my tongue out at him as I follow my niece up the front walk of the next house. She rings the doorbell and anxiously awaits the house's owner to come to the door.

"Trick or treat!" She exclaims when a middle aged woman opens the door

"Well hello Tinkerbell!" She smiles as she places a handful of candy into Sophie's pillowcase "Oh hello Ruby!"

"Hi Mrs. Easton!" I wave

Beck and Jade still live in the house we moved into when I was 16, so I know some of the people who live in the gated community. Not all of them are famous, in fact most of them aren't, but they're all rather well-off. Mrs. Easton's husband works for Google and so does one of her sons.

"Still taking the music industry by storm?" She asks

"You could say that." I blush

"Aunt Rubyyyyy." Sophie groans, pulling at my hand "I wanna go get more candy!"

"Well I don't want to get in the way of anyone's Halloween fun!" She gasps "You take care, Ruby. Keep working hard!"

"Thanks Mrs. Easton. I will!" I smile as Sophie grabs my hand and starts pulling me towards the driveway, and back to Trevor, Beck and the babies.

"I think we should head back soon." Trevor tells me "Captain America is fast asleep and Thor and Iron Man are going to be joining her shortly."

"No! I wanna keep Trick-Or-Treating!" Sophie begs "Please! It's Friday! There's no school tomorrow!"

"Soph, I don't know..." Beck sighs

"What if I take the babies back and you guys stay out with her?" I suggest

"I honestly don't know how much longer I can stay out here in this costume." Beck admits "There's no sleeves on it and it's getting cooler."

"What if we all walk back to the house, we change into real clothes and then take her back out again?" Trevor compromises

Beck nods and we begin the walk back to Beck and Jade's house. I see a paparazzi dip hidden behind a house snap a picture of us. Oh well, I knew some would sneak in, even if it _is_ a gated community.

When we arrive, I explain the situation to Jade as Beck runs upstairs to change and Trevor goes to get his change of clothes from the car. Jade insists that Sophie puts a long sleeved shirt on under her costume to keep her warm, and the little girl reluctantly obeys her mother.

After the guys leave with Sophie, Jade helps me change the babies into their matching "My First Halloween" pajamas,(Aaron's are black, Jonah's are orange, and Olivia's are purple) and place them in their car seats to sleep, each covered in a blanket. Then I change into _my_ pajamas. Which basically consist of a pair of flannel pants and one of Trevor's old Hollywood Arts sweatshirts.

"How long do you think they'll stay out?" I ask

"Knowing Sophie," She sighs "They'll be back in 45 minutes to an hour and a half and Beck will have to carry her to bed."

"I remember when we used to get that excited about trick-or-treating." I laugh

"Yeah." She chuckles "John would take us, we'd stay out until nine, and Mom would always have hot chocolate waiting for us when we got home."

"Those were the days." I smile over at my three babies, all peacefully sleeping

"Yeah." She agrees "Those were the days."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: please DO NOT go looking for these twitter accounts. THEY DO NOT EXIST. _I made them up_ for the purpose of this story.**

* * *

Twitter Update from **RubyKaitlin**:

_Hey everyone! Be sure to check out my livestream today at 6:00 PDT! **Jade_Oliver95 **and I will be answering YOUR questions! So send em in_! #_askjadeandruby_

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"Hello world!" I smile at the camera "Can everybody hear me?"

I check the #askjadeandruby tag for responses.

_Yup!_

_Hi Ruby!_

_Can hear you loud and clear!_

"Awesome!" I say "We're just going to wait a second for Jade, she's on her way upstairs."

"Chill your asses!" Jade says as she enters the room with a bowl of popcorn "I'm here!"

"Careful! You don't know how old some of them are!" I exclaim as she sits down next to me

"Public Service Announcement: If you're old enough to have a twitter, you're old enough to hear me swear." she says flatly "And if you're one of those seven year olds lying about your age just to get a twitter and be 'cool', shame on you."

"Jade Oliver, ladies and gentlemen!" I laugh

"Sorry," she says taking a handful of popcorn "I'll get off my soapbox now. Let's answer some questions."

"You wanna pick the first one?" I ask

"Why not?" She shrugs and starts scrolling through the feed "Oh here we're gonna do this one just to get it out of the way. '_Logan Michelle is a beautiful name, why did you choose it?_'. You're right, it is a beautiful name, and we originally chose it because both Beck and I absolutely loved it. However, in the past few weeks I have come to not love it so much. So her name more than likely will not be Logan, but Beck and I have found a new one we love even more. But this time, we won't tell Sophie so there's no chances if her announcing it to the whole world via internet. And don't ask me to tell you what it is, because I won't."

"She won't even tell me." I add

It's true and I'm only _slightly_ pissed off.

"Oh stop. You'll find out soon enough." She laughs "If this kid ever decides to come out!"

"Jade was due three days ago." I inform my viewers "She's a little cranky."

"Whatever." She rolls her eyes "Pick a question."

"_How have you been spending your time off from touring_?" I read "Well, I've been sleeping a lot. Because I don't care who you are, two weeks of straight touring will exhaust you. By the way, we did that so I'd be home when Jade has her baby, but it looks like we could've extended it a week and had some rest time. But that's okay. Uhhm, I've been spending time with Trevor and the babies. We come over here a lot to hang out with Beck, Jade, and Sophie. Soooo yeah. Down time is good."

"Hear that junior?" Jade says to her baby bump "Aunt Ruby busted her ass so she could be here to meet you and you've decided to just hang around in there."

"Pick another question." I laugh "She'll just wanna stay in there longer if you yell at her."

"Whatever. Let's see, oh! They want to know where we went on our honeymoons." She exclaims "Well, I didn't get my honeymoon right away. Because the day after Beck and I got married, my water broke, and then Sophie was born extremely early the next morning. So yeah, the next year for my birthday and our anniversary, Beck took me to Cancun. So Cancun. That's where I went."

"I don't have any fun stories like that with mine, but we went to Greece." I laugh. "It was beautiful. I had such an amazing time, and because if touring I get to go back every once and a while. Trevor and I always make a point of going to the same restaurant as we did the first night we were there. I seriously hope it never moves because I can never remember the name, just where it is. Okay next question..."

"Here's another wedding one," Jade tells me "Wow you guys like wedding questions there's like three in a row here, let's do this one first, _what color were your bridesmaid dresses_? Mine were navy blue and black."

"Mine were light pink and white." I say "Polar opposites."

"Polar opposites." Jade agrees "Our weddings in general were polar opposites. Mine was small, like really small. Her's wasn't huge, but it was decent sized. Her's was in a church, mine...well let's just say mine wasn't. Her reception was a giant party, literally, it was SO much fun, but I kept mine small."

"And for those of you wondering, yes! I did make Jade wear a pink bridesmaid dress!"

"She's so proud of herself for that." Jade scoffs "I'll do anything for this girl right here. If she had wanted the bridesmaids in gorilla suits, then I would've worn one."

"Thanks big sis." I smile

"You're welcome, baby sis." She laughs "Read the next one there."

"_What was your first dance at your wedding_?" I read "'Then', by Brad Paisley. I love that song."

"Overjoyed by Matchbox Twenty." Jade answers "I'm pretty sure Ruby came up with that one."

"No, Tori did." I correct her "I wanted you to use a country song."

"Right." she laughs "Obviously my sister and I have very different music tastes."

"Very different." I agree "_What was your favorite book you read in school_? Hm, I think I'd have to go with The Great Gatsby. What about you?"

"To Kill a Mockingbird." Jade answers "Still my favorite book."

"Wait wait wait, look at this one." I laugh "_Where are the kids right now? It seems awful quiet_!"

"Their daddies are watching them." Jade smiles "Because their mommies needed some girl time."

"Some very much needed, well deserved girl time."


	11. Chapter 11

_Ruby's POV_

"I can't believe you talked me into watching this movie...again." Trevor sighs as we lay in bed, watching Hitch, one of my favorite movies.

"You like this movie." I remind him

I don't think either one of us will make it to the end to be honest. It's only 9:00 and I already have my head resting on his chest, and my eyes feel heavy.

"I know. But we watch it all the time."

"Well then lets pick another one." I suggest

"Nah." He shakes his head "'cause then one of us has to get up and change it. I don't want to and I know you don't either, so let's just watch it."

"Alright." I laugh

We watch in silence for a while, until Trevor's phone starts vibrating on the bedside table.

"Hello?" He answers groggily "Oh! Hey what's up?"

"Who is it?" I ask

He presses a finger to my lips to tell me to stop talking to he can listen.

"What? A baby swap? Oh!" He jumps up "Shit! I mean! Yeah that's fine bring her over! I'll tell Ruby! Yeah. Yeah. Okay. See you soon! Okay. Bye."

"Who was that?" I ask when he hangs up the phone

"Beck." He tells me "They're bringing Sophie over."

"What? Why?"

He shoots me a look that reads 'you know exactly why'.

"Jade's water broke?" I ask

He nods

"Well why didn't you just say that!" I exclaim and jump up to get dressed.

I'm not going to the hospital in my pajamas, but I'm certainly not dressing up either. Let's see, what to wear, what to wear? Leggings, an oversized sweater, and combat boots it is.

"Are you going to be okay with four kids by yourself?" I ask Trevor as I start throwing things into my purse.

Phone. Phone charger. Eos egg. Movies...Rent, Les Miserables, Hairspray, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Pitch Perfect. A deck of cards. Am I missing anything?

"Yeah I'll be fine." He assures me "They'll be asleep most of the time anyway."

"I know, but what happens when they wake up?"

"Sophie loves her cousins." He reminds me "She'll be more than happy to help me out."

"Okay." I sigh "Wait! Trev! Pick a number one through ten!"

"Um...eight?" He says confused as we make our way downstairs "Why?"

I go into the living room and grab the season eight Friends box set from underneath the entertainment center.

"Heaven forbid we forget the Friends DVD's!" He gasps as the doorbell rings "Shit!"

"Please don't wake the babies." I pray out loud as Trevor opens the door

"Sorry." Beck apologizes as he steps inside, carrying Sophie who's half asleep "I forgot."

"I think they slept through it." Trevor tells him as Beck passes Sophie to him along with her bag "Hey Soph."

"Hi Uncle T..." She yawns

"Is Jade in the car?" I ask Beck as I zip my coat up

He nods.

"Okay. Bye babe." I kiss Trevor "Bye Sophie."

"Bye." Trevor whispers

"Behave." I tell him "Both of you."

"Okay." He laughs as I walk outside, down the front walk, and towards Beck and Jade's car sitting in my driveway.

"Hey." I say as I climb into the backseat behind Jade "How ya doin?"

"About as good as I can be, I guess." She responds "Was Sophie okay?"

"I think she is." I tell her "She's half asleep anyways."

"Good. I'd feel guilty if she was upset or anything. I mean I feel guilty anyway bu- AHH!" She cringes

"Hey. Hey!" I extend my hand forward towards her so she can grab it, which she does "You're okay."

"I'll be even better if Beck moves his ass and gets out here!"

* * *

"I refuse to watch that!" Beck insists

"But Zac Efron!" I argue

"Exactly!" he exclaims "You only want to watch it because he's in it!"

"I think you're going to lose, Beck." Jade sighs from her hospital bed "She's pretty persistent."

"Cat and Tori will back me up when they get here!" I tell him

"What will we back you up on?" Cat asks as she enters the room, followed by Tori

"We should watch Hairspray." I tell them "Because Zac Efron."

"No we shouldn't!" Beck argues

"Hmmm, I don't know. What's the other option?" Tori asks

"Why don't we just watch Friends?" Jade suggests "Then everyone will be happy and Beck and Ruby will stop arguing."

"Fine." I sigh and put Hairspray back in my purse and take Friends out instead

"Is that all we missed?" Cat laughs

"Pretty much." Jade sighs "I'm six centimeters."

"At least this one is moving faster than Sophie was." Tori reminds her

"Thank god!" Jade exclaims "I don't know if I could do another twelve hour labor."

* * *

"Come on Jade!" Beck encourages "You can do it! I know you can!"

"I'm going to kill you!" She grimaces

"Thats fine!" He laughs "Just keep pushing!"

"Come on Jade." I whisper to her "You're almost there!"

"Yeah okay kid let me tell you how spoiled you were!" She exclaims

I had to have a C-Section. Oh well. I won't complain.

"I know." I smile "But you're almost there! Stop worrying about me and push!"

I wasn't in the room when Sophie was born, I wasn't old enough. So the first labor I experienced was my own with the triplets, which was a C-Section. So I've never really been in this situation before. Tori hasn't either, because she stayed in the waiting room with me, then again, she's also had her own baby. Anyway, lucky for us, Beck seems to have it under control for the most part.

"Come on Jade! Shes crowing! One more big push!" The doctor orders

Jade squeezes my hand so hard I think she might break it, but I'm distracted from the pain by the baby's cries that fill the room.

"She's here!" Beck smiles and kisses the top of Jade's head "I'm so proud of you."

The doctor places the screaming baby on Jade's chest and she begins to cry. I exchange a look with Cat and Tori and we all seem to be on the same page.

"We'll give you some privacy." I tell Beck and turn to go

"Wait," Jade grabs my hand "Thank you."

"You're Welcome." I smile

Cat, Tori and I exit the room and start walking down the hallway toward the cafeteria to find coffee or something of the sort.

"Is the cafeteria on the ground floor or in the basement?" Tori asks as we step onto the elevator "I can't remember."

"Me either." Cat admits

"Just try the ground floor first and if that's not there we'll go to the basement." I suggest and hit the 'G' button.

We travel down the seven floors to the lobby area, however, when we step off the elevator, we're met by an eruption of flashbulbs and yelling.

"DID JADE HAVE THE BABY?" A paparazzi yells

"WHAT DID THEY NAME HER?"

"GIRLS COME ON TELL US SOMETHING!"

"Back on the elevator!" Tori yells and begins desperately pressing the 'up' button on the wall.

The doors finally open and we rush inside hitting the button to close the doors over and over until they finally shut and we begin moving upwards again.

"That _definitely_ didn't happen when Sophie was born."

"Maybe the nurses station has some coffee."

* * *

"Hey guys." Beck says entering the waiting room "Wanna come meet the newest addition?"

I smile and get up, following him down the hallway, Cat and Tori behind me.

"Hi guys." Jade smiles when we enter the room.

"Hiiiii." Cat whispers

We all gather around the bed, admiring the sleeping baby girl that Jade is holding.

She's a tiny thing. Smaller than Sophie was, but bigger than my kids were, who were premature. They probably miscalculated her due date. If I has to guess I'd say she's around six pounds. She's wearing a hat, but the little hair I can see sticking out from under it is light brown. Lighter than Jade and Sophie's, certainly lighter than Beck's, but darker than mine. Jade says she doesn't have a whole lot of it either.

"What's her name?" Tori finally asks.

"Violet." Jade smiles "Violet Kaitlyn Oliver."

"Kaitlyn?" I smile

She nods

"Really?" I gasp

"Check her birth certificate if you don't believe me." Jade laughs and gestures for Beck to hand it to me

_**Violet Kaitlyn Oliver**_

_**Sex: Female **_

_**6 lbs. 2 oz.**_

_**18 inches long**_

_**Born: November 5th, 2022**_

_**12:48 A.M.**_

_**To Parents:**_

_**Beck and Jade Oliver**_

_**Los Angeles, California**_

"Oh my gosh." I gasp

"Ruby." Beck says "We were wondering..."

"Yeah?"

"Would you and Trevor be her godparents?" Jade asks

"Of course." I smile "We'd be honored."


	12. Chapter 12

_Ruby's POV_

"Listen to me, Sophie Marie." I tell my oldest niece as I kneel down to be closer in height to her "You listen to Mommy and Daddy, okay? And be a good big sister. Trust me, I'm a little sister. We need good big sisters to look up to. You understand?"

She nods.

"Alright." I kiss her forehead and stand up "I love you."

"I love you too, Aunt Ruby." She hugs me, then leaves to say goodbye to Trevor

"You'll be there for MSG right?" I ask Jade, who's pushing Violet back and forth in her stroller

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." She smiles

"I love you." I hug her

"I love you too." She tells me "Be careful okay? Keep me updated."

"Okay." I nod and bend down to say goodbye to Violet "Hey Violet. Thanks for making your appearance before I had to leave again. Be good for Mommy, alright?"

The newborn baby yawns and waves her arms around in space.

"I'll take that as a sign of understanding." I chuckle and kiss the top if her head.

"Rube. Come on we gotta go." Trevor calls to me

"Bye." I wave to Jade and the girls, Beck is at work. "I'll call you later tonight."

"Bye!" Sophie yells as I pick up the third baby seat and jog to catch up to Trevor who has already started walking towards the jet.

"So has your sister been okay?" Trevor asks as we board the plane

"What do you mean?"

"You know...with the baby being born and everything?"

"She's had a baby before, Trev." I say as I start buckling Aaron's car seat in.

"Well yeah I know." He sighs as he buckles another seat in "But that whole thing that happened the summer between Sophomore and Junior year..."

"What?"

"When Beck was working on that movie?"

"Trevor. I'm not a mind reader, you need to help me out here."

"Come on babe, please don't make me say it." He sighs "That day we were playing in the sprinkler with Sophie, and Jade told us to get off each other and stop being cute and then _he_ showed up and..."

"Shit. No yeah okay." I say once I remember what he's talking about.

The miscarriage. Or technically you could say stillborn. I'm not actually sure...

When my dad attacked her and she lost the baby. My nephew Jonathan, named after my stepdad and half-brother.

"She hasn't mentioned anything of she's been thinking about it." I tell him "I'll...I'll be sure I ask her about it when I get a chance to talk to her."

"Aw babe." Trevor pulls me into a hug "I'm sorry I brought it up. I know it still scares you."

"No it's okay." I mutter into his chest "Thanks for caring."

"Always." He whispers.

* * *

I'm sitting in my room doing homework. Why am I doing homework? I'm 24...

I stand up and look around at where I am. I'm in my bedroom... at the first house Beck and Jade bought when Jade was still pregnant with Sophie.

"Hello?" I call

Nobody answers.

Why am I here? How did I get here? What's going on?

"Hello, Ruby." A chillingly familiar voice says from behind me

Shit, no this can't be happening.

"What do you want?" I spit at him as I turn around.

"Still thing your sister is god herself?" He scoffs as he picks at his nails "It hurts me, baby girl."

"She takes better care of me than you ever did!" I exclaim

"Really?" He asks "No she doesn't. Stop lying to yourself."

"Maybe you should stop lying!" I counter "God I hate you!"

He stands up and before I can react, his fist connects with my face.

"HELP!" I scream "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

"No one can hear you, Ruby!" He laughs and hits me again

"You drunk bastard!" I cry and try to push him off of me

"Shhh, stop squirming. I am your father! Listen to me!"

I continue to kick and scream, but i just can't shake him. He lifts me up and throws me over his shoulder, carrying me out of the room.

"Ruby Kaitlyn!" He scolds "I'm only trying to help you. That slut and her burnout boyfriend are not capable of raising a baby, let alone a bratty teenager like you."

I continue to kick and punch and bite, but nothing works. He doesn't even flinch, he's almost...immortal.

"OH MY GOD HELP!" I cry "GOD PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

"No one can hear you." He sighs, annoyed

"JADE! BECK!" I scream "TREVOR! PLEASE! SOMEONE! ANYONE!"

"Ruby!" A voice calls somewhere off in the distance

"HELP!" I cry to them

"Ruby!" It calls again, this time a little louder

"YES IM HERE! PLEASE HELP ME!"

"RUBY!" Trevor screams

I jolt awake and shoot upright, straight into his arms, and begin to sob hysterically.

"Shhh it's okay. I'm here." he whispers and rubs my back "You're okay. You're safe."

"He...tried...to take...me." I sob

"Shhh, baby it wasn't real." He reminds me "You're here with me and the babies. We're on tour right now, we're in Miami. Beck and Jade are safe at home in Los Angeles with Sophie and Violet. Your Dad is dead, he can't hurt you anymore. It was just a dream, you're safe."

I continue to cry into his chest for a good ten minutes or so, when I run out of tears. Then I just kind of sit there, and Trevor continues to hold me. Eventually I drift back off into a light, dreamless, sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

_Ruby's POV_

"Has anybody seen my phone?" I ask as I frantically rush around the tour bus looking for my cellular device

"You just had it fifteen minutes ago." Trevor laughs from his spot on the bed

"Yeah I know I did!" I snap "Uhg, Livy! Give Mommy her phone back!"

I bend down to take the white PearPhone from my daughter, just as it starts to ring. She jumps because the noise startles her at first, but she smiles when she sees Aunt Jade's picture pop up on the screen.

"Hello?" I answer once the phone is back in my possession

"Hey." Jade says "You have time to talk?"

"Uh sure." I shrug "We're on the bus."

"Atlanta tonight right?" She asks

"Raleigh." I correct her "Atlanta was last night."

"Oh. I must've missed a day." She laughs

"Yeah." I hear Violet start whining in the background "Is everything okay? Why'd you call?"

"Trevor told me you had an episode a few nights ago." She tells me, her voice suddenly becoming more serious "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." I assure her "Its just, it got mentioned during the day that day and I guess I couldn't push it away."

"How did it get brought up?" She asks

"Trevor asked if you we're doing okay with the new baby and everything because of...because of Jonathan." I say

"Jesus." She breathes "Tell him I'm fine. It upset me at first, but I know he's better off where he is and Violet is better off here where she is."

"That's what I figured you'd say." I admit

No way she'd admit if it was still bothering her. Not Jade.

"So you're okay now?" She asks

"Ouch! Aaron Trevor!" I hear Trevor exclaim

I look over to see my husband holding our oldest son on his lap, the baby pulling on his hair. And I can't help but laugh. Jonah and Olivia play peacefully on the floor, and it puts me at ease.

"Yeah." I smile "I'm okay now."

* * *

"Hello Raleigh!" I greet the crowd at the PNC Arena later that night "How is everybody doing on this fine evening?"

The crowd cheers back in response.

"I can't hear yooooou." I tease them

They cheer louder.

"Yeah that's it North Carolina!" I laugh "Aw this is awesome!"

"Hey Rube!" Trevor exclaims "Didn't you used to listen to that song back in high school about Raleigh?"

"What?" I ask him

"You know..._I made it down the coast in seventeen hours, Picking me a bouquet of dogwood flowers, And I'm a-hopin' for **Raleigh**, I can see my baby tonig__ht_" he sings

"_So rock me momma like a wagon wheel, Rock me momma any way you feel, Hey momma rock me, Rock me momma like the wind and the rain, Rock me momma like a south bound train,Hey momma ro__ck me_" I join in and sing with him, and we get a great crowd reaction "Do you guys know that song?"

They just cheer, so I don't know what that means, but they seem pleased with us.

"Darius Rucker, right?" Trevor asks me

"Well yeah he redid it." I say "But Bob Dylan wrote it and released it first."

"Really?" He asks as the crowd cheers again, presumably for the mention of Bob Dylan, but they cheer for just about anything

"Really." I nod "Alright, let's do some shout-outs!"

The band starts to play as I pull my phone out and bring up the list of shout-outs I've selected from tonight's audience.

"Melissa and Erica, section 334! Hello up there! Thanks for coming!" I smile "Erin and Rachel, section 204! Hi! How are ya?"

I can see section 204 from where I am on stage, so I can see the two very excited teenage girls start jumping up and down when I mention them. That honestly, is one do the best parts of this job. The fans.

"Hey Olivia, hey that's my daughter's name! Haha Olivia, section 226! Happy 17th Birthday!" I cheer "Oh another birthday, Mikey, section 302! Happy...26th birthday!"

"Nice dude." Trevor laughs into the microphone

"Hey we love fans of all types here!" I exclaim "Alright, this one is my favorite, so I saved it for last. Savannah! Section 129!"

I stop and point in the general direction of section 129.

"Yes that's right, you Savannah!" I chuckle "Liam would like to know if you'd marry him?"

I can't see section 129 all that well, because its all the way in the back of the arena, but based on the crowd's reaction, I'm assuming she said yes.

"Did she say yes?" I ask

The crowd cheers

"She did?" I confirm "Okay, hey Max? Can we get them up on stage please?"

"Yeah sure." The head of security yells to me as he and a few arena security guards disappear to retrieve the couple.

"Okay while we wait for them, we'll do two more..." I say "Okay. Luke and Katie, section 220! Are you having fun? Yeah? Okay good! Hazel and Elena! Section 323! Waaaaay up in the nosebleeds! Thanks for coming you guys, you're the best kind of fan!"

"Ruby!" Max calls

I turn to see him standing next to a very nervous looking couple. I wave them onstage, they look to be about my age.

"Everybody give it up for Savannah and Liam!" I cheer "Congratulations you guys!"

I give Savannah a hug and she's literally shaking.

"What's wrong?" I ask her

"This is insane!" She tells me as a stagehand brings out two stools for them to sit on "What's going on?"

We informed Liam ahead of time that we had selected his shout-out to be read onstage tonight so he wouldn't ask her before it was time. But we _didn't_ tell him about _this_.

"I'm gonna sing for you guys!" I laugh "If you're okay with that?"

She nods and smiles

"Okay band, remember what we talked about before show time!" I smile "Now this song _isn't_ mine, but of you know the words, feel free to sing along!"

Savannah looks like she could burst out into tears at any moment.

"_Heart beats fast_

_Colors and promises_

_How to be brave?_

_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?_

_But watching you stand alone,_

_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow._

_One step closer_

_I have died every day waiting for you_

_Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you_

_For a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more..._."


	14. Chapter 14

_Ruby's POV_

"Oh my gosh!" I squeal and practically run off the bus and through the open door to the arena

Well I run about as fast as someone carrying a baby seat can.

"Rube! Calm down!" Trevor calls as he jogs after me carrying the other two babies

"Calm down?" I exclaim "Trevor, this is the Bridgestone Arena! We're in Nashville!"

My husband has never been as big of a country music fan as I am. He certainly likes it, because he would and still does listen to it, but only with me, and he only has a few select songs on his PearPod, most of which are my songs that are country enough to fit into the genre. Me on the other hand, I'm a fangirl. A _major_ fangirl.

"It's just another show." He laughs

"_Just_ another show?" I scoff as security leads us down a series of hallways to the dressing rooms "Trev, they have the CMA Awards here! And the CMA Music Festival! And there's been a Grammy nominations concert!"

"Are you forgetting you're playing Madison Square Garden in a few weeks, babe?" He reminds me

"Woah! One fangirl attack at a time please!" I laugh as I enter my dressing room and set the car seat down

"Yeah yeah whatever." He rolls his eyes and sets the other carseats down "I'm gonna go help unload the instruments. Julia should be in soon."

"Okay." I kiss his cheek, and then he leaves

I throw my purse down on one of the chairs and pull out my phone, opening up the twitter app.

**RubyKaitlyn**: _Soooo excited to be in Nashville! Should I wear my cowboy boots on stage tonight?_

"So are you having a heart attack?" Julia asks as she appears at the door, if you can call it a door.

The whole dressing room is basically a giant curtained area with some furniture and a vanity.

"Just a tiny one." I giggle "This is so cool! Can you imagine who has been in here before us?"

"Girl it's no different than any other arena you've played. Every other one has had different artists in it before you!" She laughs and bends down to take Jonah out of his car seat "Hey little man!"

"I know it's just so..." I'm interrupted by an alert from my phone telling me someone has responded to my tweet

**Jade_Oliver95**: RubyKaitlyn break a leg, my little redneck!

I chuckle at the inside joke between my sister and I.

"What?" Julia laughs "Something I said?"

"No." I smirk "Just...Jade."

Another alert.

**Jade_Oliver95**: _RubyKaitlyn P.S. Sophie says she wants a pair of cowboy boots like Aunt Ruby's..._

* * *

"Nashville! You have no idea how excited I am to be here!" I announce to the crowd later that night

"You seriously don't..." Trevor laughs from behind me

"Oh stop it you." I tease "He just doesn't get it."

The crowd cheers, which I'll consider as them siding with me.

"You guys wanna know what I did today?" I ask

They cheer.

"I went shopping and bought all three of my babies pairs of cowboy boots!"

The crowd swoons as a picture of the babies sitting in their carseats wearing little mini cowboy boots appears on the giant screen behind me, as well as the two above the stage off to the left and right.

"As much as Trevor won't what to admit it, he enjoyed himself too!" I laugh as the picture of the babies disappears and a picture of Trevor, wearing a hot pink sparkly cowboy hat, replaces it.

"I think I look pretty cute..." He shrugs

* * *

"Goodnight babies." I whisper and lean down and kiss each of their foreheads as they lay sleeping in their pac-n-plays "Mommy loves you."

"You're sure you don't mind staying with them?" Trevor asks Julia and Zach "If you want to go out, we can find someone else."

"Dude, it's fine." Zach assures him "They're asleep."

"And if they wake up, it'll be a test to see if Zach is Daddy material." Julia whispers to me, and we both laugh.

"Alright! We'll be back around two...or maybe three...It's fine if you fall asleep. Just please don't have sex in my bed or near my kids please." Trevor tells them "Okay. Come on babe."

I follow Trevor out of the bus and into the night, as we start walking towards the downtown area.

"Not so fast Mr. and Mrs. Samuels!" Max calls out as he jogs to catch up with us, along with a few other members of our security team "You didn't think we we're gonna let you go out and have all the fun, now did you?"

"Max. For the last time." I groan "You don't have to follow me _everywhere_!"

"It's my job to make sure you're safe at all times!" He reminds me "Even at 11:30 at night!"

I just roll my eyes and continue walking hand-in-hand with Trevor, the security team trailing behind us.

We don't get all that far before we find a little honky-tonk bar and walk in. Music is blaring and there's people from wall to wall. There's a little dance floor in the middle, I grab Trevor's hand and pull him towards it, before I know it, we're surrounded by people again, dancing away.

I haven't danced like this since before I was pregnant. It would be rather hard to grind on someone with a triplet baby-bump in the way after all. I feel young and stupid, like I'm back in high school again.

"THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!" I yell to Trevor over the music

"I KNOW!" He yells back

We dance and dance, we don't even take a break until about one, when we go to the bar for a few drinks. We meet a few girls who certainly do not look old enough to be in a bar, who had come here straight from my show. I take a few pictures with them, and sign one of their phone cases, the other one's cowboy hat.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine someone would be begging _me_ for _my_ autograph.

Around twoish, the DJ starts to play slower songs, not that I mind, in fact he's playing some of my favorites. Others however, don't seem to enjoy it as much and the bar starts to empty out.

"Ready to go?" Trevor asks as we sway back and forth to the music, his arms around my waist, and mine around his neck

"Yeah I guess maybe we shou-" I'm cut off when a familiar melody fills the room, along with it's matching lyrics...

"_I remember trying not to stare_

_The night that I first met you_

_You had me mezmorized_

_And three weeks later_

_In the front porch light_

_Taking 45 minutes to kiss goodnight_

_I hadn't told you yet_

_I thought I loved y__ou then._.."

"Let's stay for the end of this one..." I tell him

"Of course." He smiles as he leans down and kisses me "How could we not?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: we're skipping ahead a couple weeks so I can avoid writers block, this chapter takes place around the first or second week of December.**

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"Mic check one two, one two." I say into the microphone

"We're good!" I hear one of the sound guys say "Thanks Ruby!"

I give him the thumbs up and then start moving around the stage, trying to familiarize myself with the new, temporary layout. Tonight is not a show that you'd want to mess up.

Tonight, is Madison Square Garden. And we're completely sold out.

Everything is bigger and better tonight. Bigger stage, bigger screens, the best outfits, even the set list has been slightly altered. And I'm nervous.

Sure, I played in New York on my last tour, but we were at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, not here. Not in 'The World's Most Famous Arena'.

"Okay! Does anybody have any questions?" The tour manager asks "Ruby! You good?"

Besides the fact I feel like throwing up?

"Yeah!" I smile "I'm good."

"Okay! Gates open at 5:30! Opener goes on at 7:30 and Ruby is up at 9!" He tells us "So everybody get some rest, we've got the biggest show of the tour tonight!"

Everyone who was on the stage or around it begins to disperse. Trevor comes up behind me and picks me up, spinning me around. I scream.

"Calm down." He laughs and kisses my cheek "It's just little old me."

"Oh stop it you." I smile and take his hand, leading him into the floor seats in front of the stage to retrieve the babies from Julia.

"Hey babies!" I coo as I pick Aaron up and start putting him into the stroller so we can move backstage easier "Did you see Mommy on stage?"

"Isn't Mommy awesome?" Trevor asks as he pulls Olivia into lap "I know she is. That's why I married her."

"You're pathetic." I smirk

"There's my superstar!" A voice says

I turn around to see none other than Andre Harris, head of my record label and part-time manager walking towards us.

"Andre!" I exclaim and move to greet him "What are you doing here?"

"I was in town." He hugs me "Decided it might be a good night to check out America's latest pop superstar."

"Are you coming to the show tonight?" Trevor asks from behind me

"You bet!" He laughs "I wouldn't miss MSG!"

"No pressure or anything." I laugh "Having my boss here."

"Hey, I told you not to think of me as your boss!" he reminds me "I'm just one of your sister's friends."

"Speaking of that..." Trevor says appearing next to me "Check this out..."

He hands me his phone and he has his Twitter pulled up. Jade posted a picture of the two of us probably around ages seven and ten. We're wearing feather boas and star shaped plastic sunglasses, holding toy microphones in the living room of the apartment we lived in between my mom divorcing my dad and marrying John. The tweet attached to it reads:

**Jade_Oliver95**: _Can't believe I get to watch this little goober play MSG tonight! So proud of you **RubyKaitlyn**! Can't wait to see you! #proudsister_

* * *

"Anything?" I ask

"Not since I checked two I minutes ago, dearest." Trevor sighs

The babies fell asleep while we were still in my dressing room after soundcheck, and not wanting to wake them, we decided to stay here for a while instead of moving to the tour bus. I'm anxiously awaiting my sister's arrival, but there's been no updates on her flight recently, so her ETA is still undetermined.

Trevor sits on the couch opposite from me, strumming the occasional note on his acoustic guitar. It's how he relaxes. I sit on the other couch, watching The Hunger Games on my PearPad.

"What about now?" I ask again

"Look Ruby when I get an update I'll let you kn-"

Theres a knock at the door.

"Oh my god!" A familiar voice shrieks "It's Ruby Samuels!"

"JADE!" I exclaim and jump up, running over to her and practically knocking her over. "You're here!"

"I am." She hugs me "Jeez kid, I haven't seen you that excited to see me since you were like fourteen."

"I'm so nervous." I admit "I get like this when I'm nervous."

"Believe me, I know." She laughs moving in to the dressing room and setting her purse down "Hi Trevor."

"Hey."

"Where are the kids?" She asks

"Over there." I point to the triplets, asleep in their stroller "Where are yours?"

"Well one is at school and the other is way to little to be at a huge concert." She reminds me "You've known all along I was the only one coming."

"Right. Sorry." I sigh

"Hey." She rests a hand on my shoulder "Calm down, kiddo. It's just another concert."

"Right." I repeat "Just another concert."

* * *

"Wow! This crowd is amazing!" I smile into the microphone as I walk down the catwalk towards the end of the stage.

Stagehands are already up there, setting up a stool and a micstand for me.

"Is everybody having a good time?" I ask

The crowd roars as I sit down on the stool, and take my acoustic guitar from one of the stagehands.

My guitar was a 20th birthday present from Trevor, and he promised he'd teach me to play. Which he did. It's body is baby blue, the neck made of maple wood, with white and silver accents and plating. This thing was my baby before I had my actual babies.

I slip the strap around my body and begin tuning it as I talk.

"So tonight is a very special show. And I thought that it called for a very special song." I say "I didn't write it, I wish I had. It's very special to me, the first time I ever performed in front of an audience, this is the song I sang. It was the first time I ever considered _maybe I could do this_. If you know the words sing along. And if you have a flashlight on your phone, I want you to hold it in the air right now."

The arena is full of thousands of phone lights as I begin to sing and play

"_When I find myself in times of trouble_

_Mother Mary comes to me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, let it be_

_And in my hour of darkness_

_She is standing right in front of me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, let it be_

_And when the broken hearted people_

_Living in the world agree_

_There will be an answer, let it be_

_For though they may be parted_

_There is still a chance that they will see_

_There will be an answer, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Yeah there will be an answer, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Ah let it be, yeah let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, let it be_

_And when the night is cloudy_

_There is still a light that shines on me_

_Shine on until tomorrow, let it be_

_I wake up to the sound of music,_

_Mother Mary comes to me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, let it be_

_Yeah let it be, let it be_

_Let it be, yeah let it be_

_Oh there will be an answer, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Let it be, yeah let it be_

_Oh there will be an answer, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Ah let it be, yeah let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, let it be_"

* * *

_Jade's POV_

I stare up at my little sister as she sings, I couldn't be more proud.

Ruby, _my baby sister,_ is preforming in Madison. Square. Garden. And I have the best seat in the house. Front row of the pit, only real VIPs are allowed in here.

I watch her as she sings Let It Be, towards the end of the song her voice starts to shake and a tear rolls down her cheek. I can't tell if it's because she's emotional, or if she's thinking back to the night she first sang this song...

_"Beck can you drive any faster?" I ask._

_"Not if you don't want to get arrested."_

_"She's probably bleeding to death!"_

_"Jade, hun, calm down. We'll be home soon okay?"_

_I sigh. I'm scared out of my mind. I heard my dad through Ruby's phone call, he could've killed her, I don't know, I wasn't there. I hate myself for not being there. Maybe I could've done something._

_Beck pulls into the driveway and I hop out before the car is even off. I run (well waddle I guess) into the RV to see my baby sister lying in the floor covered in blood clutching her side._

_"Ruby."_

_"Jade. Help."_

I wince at the thought. A few tears begin to roll down my cheek. Not because I'm upset at the memory, because I'm so proud of what I'm seeing.

The same girl who tried to convince me she'd never in a million years be famous, is performing in 'The World's Most Famous Arena'.

I think of how pissed off this would make our father, and it makes me grin ear to ear.


	16. Chapter 16

_Ruby's POV_

"_Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light_" I sing as I tape Christmas lights to the wall of our hotel room in a Christmas tree pattern. Aaron and Olivia are fast asleep in their pac-n-plays, and Jonah is with Trevor, wherever he went..."_From now on your troubles will be out of sight.._."

Today is Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, I have a show tonight in Minneapolis, so we'll be spending the babies' first Christmas in a hotel room, instead of our own home, and we won't be with Beck, Jade, and the girls.

I requested we _at least_ get to stay in a hotel, instead of having to sleep on the tour bus, management was more than happy to oblige.

"Jesus!" Trevor exclaims as he enters the hotel room, carrying a bag, Jonah on his hip, "It's fucking freezing!"

"Trevor!" I scold "What have I said about swearing in front of the kids?"

"He's only six months old!" He rolls his eyes "He won't remember if I do it once!"

"Or ten or twenty times?" I remind him

"Oh come on."

"Whatever." I sigh "Where did you guys go anyway?"

He holds up the bag he had been carrying, then throws it in my direction. I catch it and open it up.

"Tore the bus apart looking for it."

Inside, there's three pairs of fleece, "My First Christmas", footed pajamas,with cartoon Santas and snowmen all over, and little reindeer faces on the feet. One light pink, one red, and one green.

"Look Jonah!" I smile "It's the Christmas jammies Aunt Jade got you!"

The pajamas had been a gift from Jade when she visited us at Madison Square Garden, because she knew she wouldn't actually see the babies on their first Christmas. The next morning after we left, I couldn't find them, and I panicked. Trevor told me to calm down, that they had to be on the bus _somewhere_, but I honestly thought they were gone for good. Apparently not.

"I wish we could be home this Christmas..." I sigh "It's not just the babies' first, it's Violet's too."

Jade and I had shipped each families presents to the other, so we would still have them on Christmas. We got Beck a pair of green Beats headphones, and Jade a Tiffany charm bracelet. Sophie had gotten basically anything ballet themed I could find her, from outfits to dance shoes to tutus. And Violet, well let's just say, Violet got lots and lots of purple. I know Jade will probably be pissed, but I figured she should have lots of violet colored outfits and blankets.

"Aw babe." Trevor frowns and sets Jonah on the floor, then wraps his arms around me, "I know it's not ideal, but at least we'll always remember their first Christmas...and don't you worry, we'll be back home in less than a month, only twelve more shows."

"Only." I sigh.

* * *

"Minneapolis!" I yell "Merry Almost-Christmas! If you celebrate Christmas...but hey if you don't, then Happy Holidays from our family to yours!"

I brush the white puff ball hanging from my Santa hat out of the way and pick up my water bottle, the band does the same, Trevor takes off his guitar and disappears backstage.

"Speaking of family, I personally think this time of year it's especially important to spend time with the ones you love...Hey, do you think there's something you guys can help me out with?" I ask

The crowd cheers as I take a sip of water.

"Okay, okay." I laugh "That's what we need to talk about. I know you're all super excited because holidays, concert yay! and everything...but do you guys think you could keep the noise level at like a three or four on the ten scale?"

The arena erupts with cheers and screaming, which I hope means _yes Ruby, of course. _

"Alright on the count of three, I need it as close to silent as we can get in here okay. Ready? One...two...three!" I explain.

The arena goes almost dead silent, people are carrying on conversations, and it's still sort of loud, but it's not _nearly_ as loud as it was.

"Okay." I say and start moving towards the backstage area "If you get excited, I really need you to try your best to contain it!"

Trevor is waiting backstage with Julia, holding Aaron in one arm, and Jonah in the other. All three of the babies wear white, soundproof headphones, and their Christmas pajamas.

"Alright baby girl, ready to make your onstage debut?" I coo as Julia hands Livy to me. "Yeah? Awesome."

I start walking back onstage and Trevor follows closely behind me.

"So like I said, family is important , especially around the holidays. So I'd like to introduce mine to you." I smile "With my husband over here, we have Mr. Aaron Trevor and Mr. Jonah Thomas. And this little girl right here, is Miss Olivia Jade."

The crowd is cheering even though I told them not to, but luckily, it doesn't seem to phase any of the babies.

They're definitely my kids, 100% comfortable in the spotlight already.

* * *

"Mommy wake up!" Trevor says

I groan, but when I open my eyes, it's not Trevor I see, it's Olivia.

"Merry Christmas, baby girl." I smile

When I sit up, Trevor is sitting on the floor with Aaron and Jonah, both boys climbing all over Christmas presents.

"I didn't want to wake you..." he laughs "But I think I've put it off as long as I can now..."

"Well it _is_ Christmas." I laugh, picking up Livy and joining them on the floor.

After giving my three boys each a kiss, I sit down, Livy on my lap, and Trevor starts gathering presents.

"Let's do ours first," Trevor suggests "So they're easier to manage."

"Okay." I agree, pick up a few boxes and hand them to him, he gives me some as well

"Boys, come help Daddy." Trevor smiles and pulls them both onto his lap

"Well then I guess Livy will help Mommy." I laugh

Inside the first box from Trevor, is a silver necklace, with an A, a J, and an O charm on it. Jade got a similar one when Violet was born, except hers has an S and a V.

"For Aaron, Jonah, and Olivia." He tells me

"Did you steal the idea from Beck?" I smirk as I put the necklace one

"I might've." He shrugs

"Well I love it anyways." I kiss him "Okay now open one of yours."

He picks up the first box from me, and begins to open it. Inside is the newest PearPhone (a red one I might add) in a case that has a picture of the two of us with the babies, right after they we're born.

"Holy sh-...I mean cow." He corrects himself, I chuckle "Thanks babe!"

I get him some clothes and a new watch. The babies get him a guitar pick that has _Daddy_ engraved on it. He gets me a lot of jewelry and a new PearPad, but the initials necklace is my favorite gift. The babies get me a new robe and slippers as well.

Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck give them _lots_ of new toys, and an outfit each.

They get Trevor and I a plaque that says

_The Samuels Family_

_Est. 9-5-20_

_Ruby &amp; Trevor_

_Aaron, Jonah, Olivia_

And it looks like there's room to add more kid's names if we need to...oh lord. Trevor gets a ticket to the Super Bowl...big surprise, that's what Beck gets him every year and they've always gone together. I get a certificate that basically says Jade will take me to get the next tattoo I want, and pay for it.

"Merry Christmas everybody." I smile as I watch my children giggle and play in the sea of wrapping paper

"Yeah." Trevor agrees "Merry Christmas."

* * *

_Jade's POV_

"Violet." I coo and zoom the video camera in on my daughter, who's sitting in her bouncy seat, in awe of everything around her "Violet, baby girl. Merry Christmas!"

The baby smiles at the sound of my voice, even though she probably can't see me. I'm too far away.

"Daddy." Sophie giggles "That's not what that's for."

I pan the camera over and see Beck wearing the new tutu Trevor and Ruby gave Sophie...on his head.

"Is this not how you wear it?" He asks

"No!" She laughs, takes it off him, and puts in on correctly "Like this!"

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't get one then!" Beck smiles "I'm clueless."

"Hey goofballs!" I chuckle "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Mommy!" Sophie smiles and runs over to me so she's face to face with the camera.

I know it seems a little old fashioned to be using a video camera and not my phone, but with PearCloud and and everything they have these days, using my phone might mean sacrificing our privacy. And my kids don't need that in their lives, and there's no way a tape can leak on the internet unless someone steals it, which won't happen.

"Okay Squirt. How old are you?" I ask

Sophie holds up nine fingers.

"Nine?" I gasp

She smiles and nods.

"Okay, so tell me some important stuff that happens this year!"

"Aunt Ruby had _three_ babies!" She exclaims

"So you have _three_ baby cousins now?" I ask "What are their names?"

"Uhm...Aaron Trevor...Jonah uhhhhh..." She hesitates

"Thomas." I remind her

"Jonah Thomas...and Olivia Jade!" She finishes "Like your name Mommy!"

"Exactly like mine!" I smile "What else happened this year? In our family?"

"You had a baby, too!" She smiles

"I did?" I gasp "Was it a boy or a girl?"

"A girl!" She grins and points to Violet across the room "I have a baby sister!"

"What's your sisters name?"

"Violet!" She cheers "Violet Kaitlyn Oliver!"

"Can you give your sister a kiss?"

Sophie runs across the living room and planets a kiss on the baby's forehead.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" Beck smiles

"Merry Christmas!" I repeat, and shut the camera off, placing it on the table beside me "Did you have a good Christmas, Soph?"

"Yeah!" She responds, still sitting behind Violet "I think Violet did too! She says she really likes her new bike seat!"

Santa brought Sophie a new big girl bike without training wheels, and Violet a baby bike seat to attach onto the back of my bike.

"Did you have a good Christmas, Mommy?" She asks me

"Yeah!" I smile "Thanks baby girl!"

I just wish I could spend it with my sister too...


	17. Chapter 17

_Jade's POV_

"Momma?" Sophie calls "Where are you?"

"In my office, baby girl!" I call back

"Momma." She says entering the room "You need to help me with my homework."

"Magic word?"

"Please?" She says, holding up a piece of paper

"Oh alright." I smirk and take the paper from her "A family tree, huh?"

"We're supposed to go to the website, answer some questions, print it out, and fill in the names." She explains

"Well doesn't that sound easy." I sigh and allow her to climb up onto my lap

I type in the address and the brightly colored website shows up. I click on _Create My Tree_ and start helping Sophie answer the questions.

_How many siblings do you have?_

"How many brothers or sisters do you have, Soph?" I ask

"Just Violet." She answers and presses the "1" key.

_How many siblings does your dad have?_: 1

_How many of your dad's siblings are married?_: 1

_How many kids does your dad's first sibling have?_: 1

_How many siblings does your mom have_?: 2

_How many of your mom's siblings are married_?: 1

_How many kids does your mom's first sibling have?_: 3

_How many kids does your mom's second sibling have?_: 0

After we hit the finish button, the blank family tree shows up on the screen, a web of blank boxes linked together in front of a cartoon tree. Theres a sidebar that allows you to add more boxes if you want.

"Do you want to add Trevor's family too?" I ask her

"Sure!" She exclaims

I click and drag a set of boxes for Ruby's in-laws, and boxes for his brother, wife and kids, even though they're not particularly all that close anymore, or that they ever were.

I hit the print button, and Sophie runs to retrieve the paper from the printer across the room. Meanwhile, I pull up the script I had been working on when she came in, and continue writing.

"Mom I still need help." She tells me, sitting on the ground next to me.

She has a folder on her lap, the family tree on the folder, and a pencil I'm hand.

"You can fill out some of the boxes yourself!" I tell her "Like yours and Violet's."

"Oh yeah!" She smiles and starts to fill in the box that says _'Me_'

_S-O-P-H-I-E M-A-R-I-E O-L-I-V-E-R_, I watch her write in her slightly crooked manuscript. And then _V-I-O-L-E-T K-A-I-T-L-Y-N O-L-I-V-E-R_ in the box linked to hers under the spots where Beck's and my names will go.

"Okay, now fill in Mommy and Daddy's names." I tell her

"Do I write _Jade West_ or _Jade Oliver_?" She asks

"Jade Oliver."

"Okay."

She write our names into the respective boxes.

"What's Daddy's sibling's name?" She asks

"Lauren Camden." I tell her "She's married to Jeff Camden and their son's name is Mikey."

I wait for her to write the names in.

Since her first Christmas, we haven't really talked to Beck's side of the family much, and I feel bad she doesn't really know them all that well. His parents send her Christmas and birthday presents, and so does his sister. His sister sends Christmas cards, and we send them to both parties, but besides that, not much contact.

"What are Daddy's parents named?"

"Martha and James Oliver." I say flatly

They never did like me all that much.

I expect Sophie to ask about her father's side of the family, why she hasn't really ever met them, or remembers meeting them. But she doesn't, and I'm extremely grateful.

"Now we have to do your side." She tells me "I like your side better."

"Me too." I laugh and turn my chair to face her "Just don't tell Daddy I told you that, okay?"

"Okay." She giggles "How do you spell Samuels?"

Violet begins to fuss in her baby swing next to my desk.

"S-A-M-U-E-L-S." I tell her as I move to pick up my younger daughter

She fills in Ruby and Trevor's boxes.

"And then Aaron, Jonah, and Livy." She says "Or should I write Olivia?"

"Write her real name." I say, sitting back down in the chair, Violet cradled in the crook of my arm.

"So Olivia?"

"Yes Olivia."

She finishes filling in her cousins names and then surprisingly moves on to Trevor's family next.

"Is this where I put Uncle T's parents?" She asks, pointing to the boxes above Trevor.

"Yes." I tell her "Thomas and Diana Samuels."

"Thomas like Jonah's middle name?"

"Exactly like that."

"What about Uncle T's sibling?"

"He has a brother named Derek Samuels, and he's married to Serena Samuels."

"Have I met them?"

I stop and think. Has she?

"A couple times when you were really little, maybe."

"Oh. Okay. Do they have kids?"

"Do they have boxes under them?"

"Oh! Yeah! What are their kids' names?"

"They have two boys. Logan and Reid. Spelled R-E-I-D."

"Is that why you didn't want to name Violet Logan anymore?"

"Part of it..."

She scribbles in the names, then comes the start of the questions I dread the most...

"Who am I supposed to put here?" She asks, pointing to the third box coming from my parents and next to Ruby and I.

"Uh...Caleb Avery."

"Who's that?" She asks

"My brother."

"I have another Uncle?"

"Kind of..." I sigh "He passed away a long time ago..."

"How long ago?"

"A couple years before you were born."

"I'm sorry, Mommy." She frowns, getting up and giving me a hug

"It's okay, baby girl." I assure her "Careful of your sister."

"Sorry, Violet." She kisses her sister's forehead before sitting back down

"It's okay, Soph!" I say in a baby voice, making the little girl smile "I love you!"

"I love you too!" She giggles "Okay Mommy, what are your Mommy and Daddy's names?"

"Maggie West and Patr-" I stop myself, thinking back to the night in the police station...

_Turns out, Patrick West isn't his real name. It's actually Maxwell Peyton O'Hare. He changed it about 20 years ago when he had to run from the law. Big surprise..._

"Maggie and John Avery." I correct myself

A child's father isn't the man who shares their DNA. Their father is the man who steps up to the plate and raises them.

And under that criteria, Patrick West, or I guess Maxwell Peyton O'Hare, is _not_ my father. Jonathan Avery is.

"Why do you and Aunt Ruby have a different last name than your Mom, Dad and brother?"

"It's...a long story." I sigh, unsure of what else to say

"Will I understand when I'm older?"

"Something like that." I chuckle


	18. Chapter 18

_Ruby's POV_

"Knock knock!" A PR manger says from the doorway of my dressing room "Remember you have that news station coming by in about ten minutes!"

"I know!" I sing-song, not snap straying from my task at hand...

Doing my makeup.

One of the Chicagoland news stations is coming by for a 'Behind The Scenes Tour'. Which basically means I have to show them around the entire production. Trevor has the babies in his dressing room so I don't have to worry about them during the interview.

When I finish my makeup, I set the brush down on the vanity table, make a few quick adjustments to my hair, then exit the dressing room.

There's a news crew standing in the main backstage area when I arrive; a woman, a camera man, and a few tech guys.

"Ruby!" The woman exclaims when she sees me "So nice to finally meet you! I'm Shannon!"

"It's nice to meet you too!" I smile and shake her out stretched hand "Shall we get started?"

"Of course! Just give us a few minutes to get the cameras working!"

I talk to her while the camera man and tech guys start adjusting the camera and microphones. Turns out she has twin daughters around Sophie's age who are both 'Mega-Ruby Fans', as she called it...

"Alright! When Mike gives us the okay I'll do the introduction and then it's all yours!" She tells me

"Alright sounds good!" I smile as Mike makes an 'okay' signal from behind the camera

"I'm here with America's biggest pop superstar, Ruby Samuels, backstage of her world tour here at the United Center! Today, we're getting special V.I.P. treatment! Right, Ruby?"

"You bet!" I grin "Hey Chicago! Let's get started!"

I lead them down a narrow hallway to the part I know everyone is dying to see. The stage.

"This is my stage!" I say "It's actually really cool. Tons of hidden tricks. Like over here! This is a trap door. I can rise up from under it, like I do at the beginning of the show, or fall down through it, like I do before my second wardrobe change!"

"Do you change down there?" Shannon asks

"No I run all the way back to my dressing room for each wardrobe change." I say proudly "I'll show that to you guys a little later."

"Is it far?"

"Depends on the venue. But it's usually far enough I need to run to get there."

I show them the catwalk and explain how the video screens move and work. Shannon follows me with the camera crew.

"These are the band tiers." I exclaim as I climb up onto the first one.

Each member of the band has their own tier to stand on, or I guess sit on if you're Zach. Each is eight feet by seven feet and they're of various heights depending on the instrument. The first is about seven feet tall and is off to what would be my left, the audience's right. That's where Trevor plays. The one behind that is about twelve feet tall and belongs to the keyboard/piano player, Mitch. On the opposite side of the stage is Drew's tier, which is about five feet tall. Behind that but slightly more center stage is Zach's, and it's about eighteen feet tall, since he's the drummer. There's either a staircase or ramp leading to every tier for easy access, both for the musicians and me, should I want to make an appearance on one during a show.

"Alright! Let's head backstage!" I smile

I start back down the same hallway we came from, but instead of heading back towards the exit, I make a few turns here and there, stopping to show them the freshly laundered rack of dark wash blue jeans, light blue dress shirts, bright red ties and dark grey vests the band will wear later. Then we arrive at the dressing rooms.

"This is my dressing room!" I inform them "Let's take a look inside."

I push the door open to reveal the vanity table I had been at thirty minutes prior, along with everything else.

"I don't have much stuff in here, since we don't stay in one venue for much time." I explain "But I have the important stuff. Makeup, clothes, a couple pictures..."

I show them the pictures I have of me and Jade, and of Beck, Jade and the girls, as well as the new ones of Sophie and Violet.

"These are my nieces." I tell them "I miss them terribly when I'm away. My sister too."

I show them around the rest of the room; my rack of clothes, the paper screen I change behind, the pac-n-plays...

"Now where are your kids right now?" Shannon asks

"Across the hall with my husband. Should we go visit them?" I smile

"Of course!" She exclaims

"Okay follow me!" I instruct them and walk across the hall to the dressing room Trevor shares with Zach

"Knock knock!" I say as I enter

"Mommy!" Trevor gasps "Hi!"

He's sitting on the couch, holding Olivia, and Aaron and Jonah sit on a blanket on the floor playing with some toys.

"This is my husband, and lead guitar player in my band, Trevor." I introduce him

"And these are your kids?" Shannon clarifies "The triplets?"

"They sure are!" Trevor grins "This is Olivia."

"And Aaron is in green and Jonah is in blue." I finish for him

"Who's oldest?"

"They're in alphabetical order," I tell her "Aaron is oldest, then Jonah, and then Olivia is the baby of the babies."

"Did you plan it that way?"

"We planned that the first boy born would be Aaron and the second would be Jonah yes, but it just worked out that Olivia was born last."

"Well, you certainly are lucky to have all of this."

"Yeah." I blush "I really am."


	19. Chapter 19

_Ruby's POV_

"Hi sweetheart." I smile and bend down to be at the little girl's level

"Hi." She says shyly and cowards into her Mom's leg

"She's just tired." Her mom tells me "It's way past her bedtime. She really does love you."

"I don't blame you kiddo!" I laugh "It's past my bedtime too!"

I fake yawn and the little girl finally cracks a smile.

"Hey. Wanna take a picture with me?" I ask

She nods and comes to stand next to me while her mom snaps a picture with her phone.

"Thank you so much!" I hug her "Keep dreaming big, okay?"

"Okay, Ruby." She smiles and leaves with her mom

Meet and greets, they're great.

"Holy crap, you're real!" The next girl in line exclaims

"I am!" I laugh as her and her friend approach me "At least, I think I am last I checked."

"Will you sign my show book?" She begs

"Sure thing." I smile "What's your name?"

"Brooke."

_Dear Brooke_, I sign

_No dream is too big, I believe in you. _

_Love always, Ruby_

"Oh my gosh thank you!" She squeals

"Mine too?" The other girl asks

"Of course. And what's your name?"

"Morgan."

_Morgan,_

_You have NO limitations. Never stop dreaming!_

_Ruby_

"Here you go." I smile and hand it back to her "Wanna take a picture?"

"YES!" They exclaim in unison and hand their phones to the security guy

"Saaay Ruby!" He laughs

"RUBY!"

"Thanks girls." I tell them "Put that up on twitter will ya?"

"Sure!" They tell me and scamper away

The next group is two couples and a young baby who's fast asleep, despite the fact she's wearing her large soundproof headphones still. She's definitely older than Violet, but probably younger than my kids.

"Hi guys." I greet them "How are y'all doin?"

"Awesome!" The first woman tells me "You we're amazing!"

"Yeah you're seriously talented!" The second one tells me

"Aw thank you so much." I blush "You guys want to take some pictures?"

"Do you mind if we take a few?" The first one asks "We want her to be in some but we also want a one of just the two of us."

"Sure let's do you two first." I suggest "Y'all look alike. Are you sisters?"

"We are actually." The same girl says "I'm Melanie, this is my sister Carly, her husband Rick, their daughter, and my husband Keith."

"Nice to meet you all." I say through a smile as Keith snaps a picture "I have a sister too."

"Jade right?" Carly smiles "The screenwriter?"

"That's her." I tell her as she takes the baby from Rick

"Would you mind holding her?" She asks "I think it'd be something cool to show her when she's older."

"Of course!" I exclaim "I love babies! Have three of my own, what's this little cutie's name?"

"Sydney."

"Hi Sydney baby girl!" I coo, even though she's asleep "Smile for mommy and Daddy!"

"You're a natural!"

Maybe that's because I have three kids?

"Thank you." I say again "Wait hang on I think I have something for her."

I go behind the picture backdrop and dig through the miscellaneous box of merchandise we keep back there for me to hand out to fans, and pull out a 8x11 glossy picture.

_Dear Sydney,_

_I can already tell you're destined for great things. Never give up, no matter what anyone tells you. Can't wait to see your name in lights someday._

_Love your first fan,_

_Ruby_

* * *

When I board the tour bus later that night after the meet and greet, I find Trevor pacing back and forth, Olivia screaming in his arms.

"What's the matter?" I ask him

"You tell me." He sighs "She's been like this for an hour and I'm afraid she'll wake the boys! I was gonna take her outside for a bit to see if the fresh air would help but the driver said we were pulling out as soon as you were-"

He's interrupted by the bus lurching into motion

"On board..." He finishes

"Let me try for a bit." I suggest and take the crying baby from him "See if I can figure it out."

"Good luck." He kisses my cheek "I'll see you in a bit."

He walks back towards the section where our bed and the pac-n-plays are and closes the divider.

"Livy baby, what's the matter?" I press a kiss to her forehead "You're not warm at all."

My mom used to do that to check for signs of a fever, so she could check us without us knowing, since a kiss is a harmless everyday thing, but we figured it out once we we're older, and still allowed her to do it anyways. I've seen Jade do it Sophie more times than I can count. She even used it on me a few times in high school, though it was usually against my will.

"Oh baby girl." I sigh "You're okay."

It kills me when they're like this, because I don't know how I can help them.

"_You with the sad eyes, Don't be discouraged..._" I start to sing to her "_Oh I realize, It's hard to take courage, In a world full of people,You can lose sight of it all, And the darkness inside you,Can make you feel so small..._"

The crying softens, but doesn't stop completely, so I rub her back and continue rocking her and singing

"_But I see your true colors_

_Shining through_

_I see your true colors_

_And that's why I love you_

_So don't be afraid to let them show_

_Your true colors_

_True colors are beautiful,_

_Like a rainbow_

_Show me a smile then,_

_Don't be unhappy, can't remember_

_When I last saw you laughing_

_If this world makes you crazy_

_And you've taken all you can bear_

_You call me up_

_Because you know I'll be there_

_And I'll see your true colors_

_Shining through_

_I see your true colors_

_And that's why I love you_

_So don't be afraid to let them show_

_Your true colors_

_True colors are beautiful,_

_Like a rainbow_"

When I finish, she's fast asleep, with her head lying on my chest, sucking on her fingers. Ever so gently, I change her into a pair of footed fleece pajamas, since Trevor seemed unsuccessful in the PJ department, and then make my way back towards the bed.

"That was fast..." Trevor smiles as we step through the divider

"Sometimes all it takes it a mother's touch." I say as I lay her down in her pac-n-play

"Wish I had that." He smirks

"Not tonight, babe. I'm exhausted."

"Can we cuddle then? Please?" He begs

"Sure." I laugh and lay down next to him

We fall asleep almost instantly, with me still in my meet and greet outfit.


	20. Chapter 20

_Ruby's POV_

"_Well I'm going home, Back to the place where I belong, And where your love has always been enough for me. I'm not running from. No, I think you got me all wrong. I don't regret this life I chose for me._" I sing as I open the curling iron and let another fresh, dirty blonde curl fall against my face "_But these places and these faces are getting old, So I'm going home. Well I'm going home._"

Tonight is my last show of the tour, in none other than Los Angeles, California, at the Staples Center. Tonight, I'll get to sleep in my own bed, and sleep for a very, very long time there after.

My phone buzzes text to me on the vanity table.

_*New Text Message* _

_From: Jade_

_Just walked in! Headed your way!_

I smile and put the phone back down so I can quickly finish up my hair. When I'm done I spray it with extra hold hairspray so it will last through the night, and head out into the hallway, only to bump into Max.

"Here she is." He chuckles "Doin' her hair, just like I figured."

"Aunt Ruby!" Sophie exclaims and practically jumps into my arms "I missed you!'

"I missed you too!" I smile and kiss her cheek "How are you?"

"Awesome!" she giggles "Look at my shirt!"

Its a lime green long sleeved shirt that says 'My Aunt Is The Coolest!" In bright blue letters with little white flowers all over the free space. A 'Ruby Samuels: World Tour V.I.P.' backstage pass hangs around her neck.

"I love it!" I tell her "Those are my favorite colors you know."

"Exactly why I just had to buy it." Jade says from behind her as she approaches, holding Beck's hand "Hey sis."

"Hey!" I smile and hug her "Hey Beck."

"Hey kiddo." He chuckles and gives me a hug as well "Long time, no see."

"I know." I sigh "Oh come on inside! Make yourselves at home! I'll go track down the rest of the clan."

I push open the door to my dressing room and allow the three of them to walk in.

"Aunt Ruby, do you have Strawberry Soda?" Sophie asks

"Do I?" I scoff "Of course I do!"

"Uh Soph, did we say you could have pop?" Jade says sternly

"Hey! She didn't ask you! She asked me!" I laugh "And I say it's a special night so she can have pop. Just sit tight and I'll be right back."

I jog down the hallway towards the open space where there's tables of food set up for the crew and performers and grab a bottle of pop for Sophie, and on the way back I stop at Trevor and Zach's dressing room to let him know Beck, Jade, and Sophie have arrived and that I can take the babies back now. He tells me he'll be down in a second once he and Zach finish the changes to the music arrangement. I decide to bring Olivia back with me so the boys are easier for him to transport.

"One strawberry soda!" I say in a French accent as I enter my dressing room again

"Yay!" Sophie cheers as I hand it to her "Thanks Aunt Ruby!"

"You're welcome." I smile "Oh jeez, sorry guys did you want anything?"

"A bottle of water would be nice." Beck shrugs

"Yeah." Jade agrees "I could go for a bottle of water."

"Oh that's easy." I chuckle and open the mini fridge underneath my vanity, pulling out two cold bottles of water "Here you go."

I toss one to each of them, which for some reason makes Olivia giggle hysterically.

"Look at you, Livy!" Jade smiles and opens her arms to the little girl, who goes to her willingly "You've gotten so big!"

She rests her head on Jade's shoulder, grinning as Jade sits down on the couch next to Beck.

"Hey Livy." He coos "How are you?"

"Speaking of babies," I chuckle as I sit down to start my makeup "How's yours?"

"She's real good." Jade smiles

"Yeah." Beck adds "She's a really happy baby."

"And Soph has been a huge help, haven't ya Soph?"

"Yeah!" Sophie exclaims, her mouth already bright red from the soda

"Knock knock." Trevor says from the doorway "The Samuels boys are here!"

"Hi." I smile as he enters the room, Jonah in one hip, Aaron on the other

"UNCLE T!" Sophie jumps up

"Woah hang on a sec!" I take Jonah from him and he hurries across the room to give Aaron to Beck "Okay, now I'm ready!"

She runs and jumps into his arms and he picks her up and spins her around.

"It's nice to have everyone together again." Jade smiles

"Yeah." I agree "It is."

* * *

"Okay Los Angeles." I say as I strut down the catwalk at the beginning of my second encore "It's really almost time for us to go this time, but I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everybody in here right now. That's right, you guys on the floor. You guys on up in the nosebleeds, everybody! This tour wouldn't have been possible without you!"

I wave to Beck, Jade and Sophie standing in the very front row as close to the stage as you can get.

"Before I go, you guys wanna hear one more song?" I ask

The crowd cheers

"Alright! Take it away boys!" I cue the band

"_Clock strikes upon the hour,  
And the sun begins to fade.  
Still enough time to figure out,  
How to chase my blues away._

_I've done alright up till now.  
It's the light of day that shows me how.  
And when the night falls...  
The loneliness calls._

_Oh I wanna dance with somebody,  
I wanna feel the heat with somebody.  
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody,  
With somebody who loves me.  
Oh I wanna dance with somebody,  
I wanna feel the heat with somebody.  
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody,  
With somebody who loves me._

_I've been in love,  
And lost my senses,  
Spinning through the town.  
Sooner or later the fever ends,  
And I wind up feeling down._

_I need a man who'll take a chance,  
On a love that burns hot enough to last.  
So when the night falls,  
My lonely heart calls._

_Oh I wanna dance with somebody,  
I wanna feel the heat with somebody.  
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody,  
With somebody who loves me.  
Oh I wanna dance with somebody,  
I wanna feel the heat.  
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody,  
With somebody who loves me.  
(Somebody who somebody who)somebody who loves me,  
(Somebody who somebody who)to hold me in his arms.  
I need a man who'll take a chance,  
On a love that burns hot enough to last.  
So when the night falls,  
My lonely heart calls."_

Hundreds of huge multi-colored balloons fall from where they had been trapped up in a net above the arena earlier, all over the stage and all over the crowd. I can see Sophie grinning Erato ear as she reaches for them, Beck tries to use static to get one to stick to Jade's head, which pisses her off. But she smiles and throws one back at his face. I run around, kicking them towards the fans and throwing them as I continue to sing.

"_Oh I wanna dance with somebody,  
I wanna feel the heat with somebody.  
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody,  
With somebody who loves me.  
Oh I wanna dance with somebody,  
I wanna feel the heat with somebody.  
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody,  
With somebody who loves me.  
Yeah,  
Don't you wanna dance with me baby?  
Don't you wanna dance with me boy?  
Don't you wanna dance with me baby?_

_With somebody who loves me,_

_Don't you wanna dance  
Say you wanna dance  
Don't you wanna dance..._

_Don't you wanna dance  
Say you wanna dance  
Don't you wanna dance..._

_Don't you wanna dance  
Say you wanna dance  
Don't you wanna dance...  
Uh-huh  
With somebody who loves me!_"

The band strikes its final notes as I jump through the trap door that had just opened up next to me, down below the stage, landing on a soft gymnastics mat. I lay there for a second, listening to the roar of the crowd as they cheer and start to file out, trying to catch my breath.

Thats it. The tour is over.

I can go home.

We can all go home.


	21. Chapter 21

_Ruby's POV _

"Can you see my bra strap?" I ask as I attach the back on my earring

"No." Trevor smirks "But I wish I could."

"Oh would you stop?" I tease "Isn't twice in one day enough for you?"

This is what I get for making him wait until we were engaged. Now he just can't seem to get enough.

"I can't help it." He whispers as he comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck "You're just so beautiful."

"Nope!" I laugh and break away from him "Come on time to go, the limo has been waiting for ten minutes!"

"Aw come on!" He groans as he follows me out of the bedroom and down the hallway to grab the babies, then out to the waiting limo.

"Hi Miss Ruby." The driver greets me and opens the door "Mr. Trevor."

"Hi Walt." I smile

Walt has been my driver for as long as I've needed one. He's a sweet old man, like the grandpa I never had. I don't need a driver often, because in order to try to keep our lives normal, Trevor and I both own cars, as well as a family car we both share, and we like to drive ourselves places. But for special events like tonight, management makes sure we have Walt.

"Beck and Jade's to drop of the kids and then to the show, right?" He clarifies before closing the door

"Right." I assure him "Thanks Walt."

"My pleasure." He smiles and closes the door

I wear a black long-sleeved, tight, floor length dress, with a slit from the bottom until about my mid to upper thigh, and various mesh cutouts. I wear hoop earrings, a necklace and carry a clutch, all bright red in color. It honestly reminds me of something Jade would pick out for me, but I found it all my own. For the first time since probably college, my hair is straightened and not curled. Trevor wears a typical tuxedo, minus the vest, with a dark grey skinny tie. And the babies, well, they're not dressed up at all.

When we arrive at Beck and Jade's, Sophie is practically bouncing off the walls, so excited that her cousins _finally_ get to sleep over.

"Are you sure you can handle four babies?" I ask Jade "I can always call-"

"Don't worry about it." Jade waves me off with her free hand that isn't being used to hold Violet "Enjoy your big night! We'll be watching on TV."

"Thanks so much again for watching them." I hug her

"Yes thank you." Trevor repeats and hugs her as well

"Not a problem!" She assures me "I just hope Beck gets home from work soon so he can help me!"

After giving each of our kids and Violet a kiss goodbye, reminding Sophie to behave, and thanking Jade another thousand times for doing us such a big favor, Trevor and I retreat back to our limo.

We don't say much on the ride over, not until Walt has pulled into the drop off lane.

"Excited?" He asks me

"Yeah."

"Nervous?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Don't worry babe," he kisses me cheek "It's just like a giant meet and greet."

"Here we are!" Walt opens the door

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" I hear a loud voice say over what must be a loudspeaker "Welcome to the 67th annual Grammy Awards!"

I take a deep breath as I step out of the limo and I'm met by thousands of flashbulbs and their owners screaming my name.

"Ruby!"

"Ruby!"

"Ruby! Look here! Gimme a smile! Big smile!"

"Just keep walking and smiling." Trevor whispers in my ear as he grabs my hand

There's what seems to be an endless line of photographers and paparazzi all competing for who can get the best shot of us.

"Come on Trevor! Give'r a kiss!"

He obliges, but only once or twice, trying his best to keep everything professional.

When we exit the line of never ending photo-ops, there's the main carpet, full of celebrities and interviewers.

"And here we have Ruby and Trevor Samuels!" Says the perky blonde reporter in charge of covering the show for whichever channel it's being broadcast on.

"Hi." I greet her as we walk up, putting on an even bigger smile for the camera.

"Ruby you look stunning!" She gasps "Who are you wearing?"

"Chris Dangle." I smile "He's a genius."

"But you're beautiful on your own, babe." Trevor grins "You could've worn sweatpants and looked just as stunning."

"You sap." I smile and give him a quick peck on the lips

"Well obviously the marriage is fine." The reporter laughs "How are the kids doing?"

"They're great! Happy, healthy..." I tell her "They're with my sister for the night."

"Jade Oliver?"

"That's her."

"Yeah. She takes our kids for the Grammys...we take hers for the Emmys and the Oscars, we've got a great system going." Trevor explains

"Well what would happen if you'd ever both be invited to make appearances at the same event?"

"I'm not sure." He shrugs "Hopefully Sophie will be old enough to babysit by then!"

* * *

"And the Grammy Award for Best New Artist goes to..."

My heart is pounding, it feels like it's in my throat.

_Oh my god. _

_Oh my god. _

_Oh my god. _

I squeeze Trevor's hand.

"Ruby Samuels!"

I literally squeal and jump to my feet.

"You did it babe!" Trevor exclaims and kisses me "I'm so proud of you!"

_Mom would be so proud..._

I make my way to the stage and begin climbing the stairs literally shaking with excitement.

"Oh my god." I gasp when the presenter hands me the gramophone statue "Oh my god this is crazy. This job brings something new everyday, I literally could not be anymore shocked right now. This is insane. I have so many people I need to thank. First of all, Andre Harris, he signed me, he manages my career, thank you so much for taking a chance on me and thinking I had what it took. My husband Trevor, for standing by me for all these years now..."

"I LOVE YOU, BABE!" He yells

"I love you too. My babies, Aaron, Jonah, and Olivia. Mommy loves you so much! My nieces Sophie and Violet, you're amazing little girls. And my sister and brother-in-law, Beck and Jade Oliver. I would be nowhere without your love, support, and encouragement. Thank you so much for believing in me, and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS AWARD!"

The music starts to play, telling me my speech time is up, and a handler comes and whisks me backstage, only so I can eventually return to my seat again.

"RUBY!" A woman yells "RUBY CAN I TALK TO YOU?"

I keep walking and pay no mind to her, just like I've been taught.

"Press need to stay in the press area, ma'am." a security guard tells her "That's the only area designated for interviews. Ms. Samuels will be there in just a moment."

"I'm not a reporter!" She insists "I'me from the APSAC!"

"The what?" I ask, paying attention to her for the first time

"The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children." She says flatly "Morgan Cross. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Samuels."

"Call me Ruby..." I say confused, shaking the hand she's extended to me "Uh, can you give us some privacy guys?"

"You sure?" The security guard asks me

"Yeah I'm sure, thank you." I tell him

"Alright, just holler if you need anything." He smiles and walks away with the rest of the guards

"Uhm, anything I can help you with Ms. Cross?" I ask the woman.

"Please. Call me Morgan. This is very casual." she tells me "I'm very interested in talking to you, your sister, Jade, as well."

"Why?" I ask

"No use beating around the bush." She shrugs "I've been doing some research for quite some time now, on both of you. Police reports, school records..."

"Sounds more like spying to me..." I say flatly

"Anything is possible in this day and age thanks to the internet." She tells me "Anyway, you and your sister, I think you'd make perfect...advocates for our organization."

"Oh really?" I raise an eyebrow at her "And what would being an 'advocate' entail?"

"Tell your story, speak at a couple events, do a few ad campaigns..." She explains "But it would require you to go public with your story..."

I bite my lip. Tell the world what happened to us? We tried so hard to make sure no one found out. Obviously not hard enough if this lady knows...

"I'd have to talk to Jade." I tell her finally "I'll, think about it."

I start to walk towards the press area

"Well here take my card!" She hands me a slip of card stock "Give me a call once you reach your decision!"

"Sure." I nod and slip the card into my bra.

Whether we say yes or no, this decision is going to change our lives.


	22. Chapter 22

_Ruby's POV_

"What did you say her name was again?" Jade asks as she continues to stop whatever she's making on the stove, I think it's Mac n cheese.

My kids are at home with Trevor, Sophie is at school, Beck is at work, and Violet is napping. I'm sitting on the island in her kitchen while she makes lunch.

"Morgan Cross." I tell her

"Oh my god." She stops "That's what that lady wants? She's been calling me for weeks!"

Trevor and I had driven separately to pick up the kids from Jade, so he could take them home and put them down for a nap, and I can stay and discuss this newly surfaced...issue.

"Do you think we should do it?" I ask her

"Well I think we kind of have to now, Rube." She sighs

"What?" I exclaim "Why? We worked so hard to try to keep it a secret!"

"Because someone _knows_ now." She explains "Like it or not. And if we say no, this lady could go ahead and tell the world for us. Who knows if what she says will even be the truth?"

"I don't know, Jade..."

"Everything we do now doesn't just affect us anymore, we have husbands, and we have kids. Beck and Trevor, they lived through it with us, at least part of it. But the kids didn't. And what would you rather they know, the truth from _us_? Or whatever lies the _media_ decides to spin once they get ahold of Morgan Cross?"

"The truth." I sigh

"The truth." She repeats "So. Call that lady back and tell her we'll do it."

"Shouldn't you talk to Beck about this?" I ask as I pull Morgan Cross's folded up business card out of the back of my phone case

Of course, I explained the whole thing to Trevor last night before the limo had even left the parking lot, and he told me he'd support whatever decision I make.

"He'll want us to do what's right." She says "I'll tell him about it when he gets home, I don't want to bother him on set."

"You're sure this is the right thing to do?" I ask

She nods as I hit the 'call' button.

The phone rings once...twice...three times before I hear

"Morgan Cross, APSAC."

"Hi, Ms. Cross this is Ruby Samuels..." I sigh

"Ruby!" she exclaims "Hi! Did you talk to your sister?"

Jade is watching me, when I glance up at her, she gives me a reassuring nod.

"Yeah...yeah I did." I tell her

"Well?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"We'll do it."

* * *

_Jade's POV_

"Beck." I say into the darkness of our bedroom that night.

I glance at the clock.

1:38 a.m.

"Beck." I say again

He begins to stir next to me.

"Hey." He rolls over "Everything okay?"

"No." I admit "I trapped you."

"What?"

"At least that's what everyone will think once this story goes public."

"Jade." He groans as he sits up and turns his lamp on "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Morgan across wants us to go public with our story." I sigh

"Yeah I know we talked about this when I got home."

"Everybody is gonna know that I got pregnant in high school and that we got married literally right before Sophie came and everyone is gonna think I trapped you." I explain, a tear running down my cheek

"Oh sweetheart..." He sighs "Nobody is going to think you trapped me, anybody with access to Wikipedia already knows all that stuff anyway."

"But they'll know about Dad." I cry "And it'll look like everything only worked out because I was vulnerable and was just looking for protection."

"So what if people think that?" He asks me "Who cares? You and I both know that's not the truth."

"I don't want the girls to think of us like that, especially Sophie, she's almost old enough to understand..."

"We'll just have to make sure that when she starts asking questions, we tell her the truth."

"What if she doesn't believe us?"

"Jade, she thinks the world of you." He smiles "Anything Mommy says, has to be the truth."

* * *

"Violet." I coo "Violet. Who's Mommy's precious little girl? Is it you? I think it's you!"

I sit on the floor in Ruby and Trevor's living room, my back against the couch, knees bent, Violet laying on my legs, smiling at me.

"You're such a cutie pie!" I grin

Jonah sits on the floor about a foot or so away from me, and giggles, as if he thinks I'm talking to him.

"You're cute too, Jay." I smile at him

He giggles and goes back to playing with his toy.

"Okay." Ruby announces walking into the room, Aaron on her hip "All clean again."

"That's what you get for leaving water where he can get to it." I laugh

"Well I hadn't exactly _planned_ on him starting to crawl when I wasn't looking." She sighs

Ruby had been trying to comfort Olivia, who was upset for a reason unknown to both of us, when Aaron decided it was time to crawl and well...did. He got halfway across the room before I noticed him, but not before he pulled Ruby's glass of water over on top of him, leaving him soaking wet and in need of a new diaper and outfit.

"Aaron, buddy, I love your outfit!" I say, referencing his 'awesome like my aunt' onsie, that I may or may not have bought..." I knew he'd be the first one to crawl."

"Because he's the oldest?"

"Because he's a trouble maker." I smirk "Like Auntie Jade."

"They're all trouble makers." She laughs "Especially the boys."

"Well, boys will be boys." I chuckle "Not that I know. I don't have any."

"Ever thought about having any?" she asks "Is there a plan for number three?"

"Let's get this one sleeping through the night first." I laugh "Then maybe we'll talk about it."


	23. Chapter 23

_Ruby's POV_

"Alright ladies." Morgan smiles as we walk down the hallway of the production studio "Jade, this is your dressing room, and Ruby yours is right across the hall. I'll be back in a while to check on you!"

I turn to Jade, who shrugs and enters her dressing room, I do the same.

Im starting to think Morgan had always planned on us saying yes to her, like there was never a doubt in her mind. The minute I called her she started spewing details at me, so many I had to put her on speaker phone so Jade could hear too. There was no way I could've remembered it all in enough detail to parrot it back to her later.

She had already set up an interview special with the TV program _80 Minute_s on channel 6. '_Defending the Defenseless_' they're calling it. It's all happening so fast, a little too fast if you ask me. I'm not so sure if I'm ready for the world to know this story. They're going all out too. Not only are Jade and I going to be interviewed, us being the focus, but they also plan on talking to Trevor, Beck, and even David Vega was called in.

I pull the outfit I brought out of my bag, and start changing into. It consists of a darker denim long sleeved shirt, black skinny jeans, cream infinity scarf, and nude flats. They told us to look nice, but to feel comfortable also, since we are going to be spilling our life stories on national television.

I pull my make up out of my purse and start touching up my face.

I really hope this is one of those situations where you're scared before the anticipated happens, but once everything is said and done, you're met with a huge sense of relief. Like my wedding day, when I doubted myself, like every girl does, but I knew it was right the minute I said 'I do' and kissed him. Or how I was terrified to be a mother, but any trace of fear was gone the second Trevor appeared behind the sheet holding Aaron and grinning ear to ear. The first time I held one of my own children, I was so scared I'd fuck up their life, but the minute he opened his eyes and looked at me, I knew we'd be fine.

"Knock knock." Jade says quietly from the doorway

"Hey." I smile

She enters the dressing room, she's wearing dark grey skinny jeans, and a grey and black striped sweater, but she's still in just her socks.

"No shoes?" I ask

"Nah not yet." She laughs as she sits down on the arm of the couch "Hey, are you okay?"

"No." I sigh "Are you?"

"No, but I know its the right thing to do." she tells me "If we can save one kid from going through the same thing we did, then it's all worth it, I guess."

It's weird, seeing her so vulnerable like this, since she's always been so strong.

"I don't know if I can do this..." I admit

"Same, but it's too late to turn back now." She sighs

"Ladies!" Morgan exclaims "We're almost ready! So we can start whenever you want!"

"How is this going to work exactly?" Jade asks

"I was getting to that." Morgan tells her "Jade, we'll start with you. All you have to do is tell your story from the beginning, up until that day you left. Ruby, you'll go after her and do the same. Then we'll have you both tell the rest of the story together. When your husbands get here, we'll let you swap the kids so we can interview them as well."

"So I'm first?" Jade asks

"Whenever you're ready." Morgan tells her

"Well." She sighs "Might as well get this over with."

She grabs my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze before following Morgan out of the room.

Alright cool, I'll stay here.

I lay down on the couch and put my headphones in, I have no idea how long Jade's interview will take, so I might as well try to take a nap, I might not have another opportunity for a while, with three kids running around and everything.

I wake up almost immediately after falling asleep, due to a knock at the door, which I swear I left open but apparently not. Is it time for my interview already?

"Come in!" I yell

The person who enters the room, however, isn't Jade, or Morgan, or even a production manager it's...my mom.

"Mom?" I gasp jolt upright

"Hi sweetheart." She smiles and enters the room, sitting down on the couch next to me.

"You're alive?"

"Am I?"

"Mom what are you doing here?" I ask

"I'm here to tell you what you're doing is okay." She half-smiles, talking one of my hands in hers

Hers are freezing.

"I'm scared, Mom." I admit "Of what people will think of us. I don't want the pity, or the judgement."

"Your story needs to be told, sweetheart." She tells me "It's like your sister said, if you can prevent this from happening to even one person, then everything will be worth it."

"Why did you do it?" I blurt out "Why did you marry _him_?"

"I was young and stupid, I took the first thing that came along." She sighs "I never stopped to think about the consequences. You, and your sister."

I don't say anything, just shake my head and try to stop the tears from falling.

"When I died, I was in the process of getting his custody revoked..." She tells me "We _tried_, Ruby. We tried to fix everything. This is how _you_ can fix things."

She gets up, kisses my forehead, and starts to leave.

"No!" I exclaim "Wait!"

"I love you, Ruby." She smiles and walks out

"Mom!" I yell and try to follow her

But when I try to stand up, all the breath is knocked out of me and I fall back down. When I open my eyes, I'm back laying on the couch, Carrie Underwood's '_Don't Forget to Remember Me_' blasting through my headphones.


	24. Chapter 24

_Jade's POV_

"Alright Jade, just start from the beginning." The interviewer tells me

"What would you consider 'the beginning'?" I ask

"As far back as you can remember."

"I was born on April 28th, 1995 in Los Angeles, California. To Maggie and Patrick West." I begin "From as far back as I can remember, my father never took interest in me. He and my mother were civil to each other, but I can honestly never remember a time I saw them 'in love', so to speak. Except maybe once, when my sister Ruby was born. They both looked genuinely happy that day. It didn't last long though, he always seemed annoyed with either me, my mother, or the new baby. So when they got a divorce around my eighth birthday, I wasn't all that surprised, even though I didn't fully understand."

"Dad didn't live with us anymore, we moved into an apartment with Mom. But we still had to go back to our old house every other weekend to see him. At first, I looked forward to those visits. He always took us to do all these fun things. We were regulars at Six Flags- Magic Mountain. We'd go to the movies, or bowling, or roller skating, and we'd stay up all night eating pizza and drinking pop Mom would never let us have, watching movies. The older I got, I started to realize he wasn't doing these things because he loved us, he was doing them to anger my mom."

"She didn't seem bothered though, she was remarried by the time I was eleven, and Ruby was eight. His name was John, I think of him as my father now, not my real dad. My sister and I both thought the world of him, which made our real dad furious. I noticed a major change in him that year. All the fun things we used to do, never happened anymore. He was hostile towards us, if I hadn't been old enough to work a DVD player and a microwave, I don't know what would've happened to us. He didn't talk to us, and it was a rare occasion if he remembered to feed us. He put on a face for Mom though, denied everything we said, blaming our 'wild' imaginations. For some reason, she believed him, probably because she had a new baby on the way."

"When my little brother Caleb was born, I was ecstatic. Now I had a brother and a sister. How cool to an innocent thirteen year old? But when he was born, I spent a lot more time with my Dad while Mom was still in the hospital. The first year of Caleb's life was when I discovered what alcohol can really do to a person. How it can warp someone's personality, turn them into something they're not. I remember hiding in Ruby's closet at our Dad's house, telling her we had to stay dead quiet, so he would forget we we're there. Meanwhile, he stormed around downstairs, flipping furniture and punching walls, drunk out of his mind. At that point, we knew what he was capable of, so we didn't dare tell Mom."

"That summer, I met Beck Oliver. He had just moved in about two blocks away from my Mom, from Canada. He was enrolled at the same performing arts high school as I was in the fall. We were your typical 'best friends who fall in love' story. We we're dating by our second week of high school. Mom and John both loved him, Ruby got along with him, but I didn't dare introduce him to my Dad. When he'd ask, I'd just tell him it was complicated and I didn't want to talk about it, and for a while, that was enough. My life was finally looking up."

"The summer between freshman and sophomore year, Mom, John, Ruby and I went to spend a week at John's parents lake house up in Northern California. They let me bring Beck. One night, John took Beck, Ruby and I out on a boat on the lake to go stargazing, while Mom stayed at the house with Caleb. I remember that night so clearly. it was dark and we were on the water, so the temperature had dropped. I was wearing Beck's hoodie and he had his arm around me. Ruby kept exclaiming how gross it was and John was giving him a hard time, the way Dad's do. That might was the first time I felt comfortable enough to call John 'Dad', so I did. And I kept doing it, eventually, Ruby did too."

"Then came that fateful day in September. I was in Sikowitz's fourth hour improv class. Lane, the guidance counselor, came into the classroom to get me, told me I was going home, that he'd explain when we got to his office. I got scared, and started imagining the worst case scenario. I was right, he sat me down and told me that my mom, step-father, and little brother had been in a car accident, and that they had all been DOA, dead on arrival. My dad was coming to get me."

"Dad acted sympathetically at first, but that didn't last. Ruby was younger than me,and taking it so much harder, and he just seemed to stop caring. That's when her nightmares started. She would wake up screaming at night, calling for Mom and John, and he did nothing. Leaving me to play the role of the parent. I would go into her room and try to comfort her, eventually there came a point when an episode occurred, I just ended up sleeping in her bed with her, just to give her something familiar and comforting near her."

"I was depressed, my entire life had changed, there we're times I considered breaking into my Dad's liquor stash, but I could never bring myself to do it. I stopped inviting Beck over, and he didn't understand. He thought I was seeing some other guy, and that's why I ignored him. So he broke up with me. I was heartbroken in a broken home. Dad got mad at me for 'moping around all the time', and not doing what he asked immediately when he asked. That's when the hitting started. One night, he hit me so hard, half my face swelled up and turned puffy, thank god Ruby was asleep. So I snuck out and ran to the only person I thought I could trust. Beck. I showed up sobbing at the door to his RV, which was three miles from my Dad's house, clutching my face and sobbing. Then he understood."

"Eventually, things started to get worse, if that was possible. Dad was drunk more, more moody. He hit me twice as much, and when I wasn't around , he'd hit Ruby. I felt terrible the first time that happened, like I had failed to protect her. That night I stayed up with her until four am, trying to calm her down enough to sleep. She was only thirteen. I couldn't turn him in, I told Ruby she couldn't either. We didn't have anyone else, no other family to turn to, so if we were removed from his custody, we'd most likely be put in foster care. If that happened, the chances of us being split up were very high. And we were all each other had left, I couldn't let that happen."

"We hung in there for another few months. One day, he came home with a new car for me. I told Ruby I thought he stole it, it was a really nice car. That was the last nice thing he ever did for me. Shortly there after, Beck, Ruby, one of her friends, and I took a day trip to Venice Beach. It was a fun day, Ruby was old enough her and her friend could run off without me worrying about them, and I could enjoy time with my boyfriend. However, when Beck dropped us off that night, Dad was already home from work, and had enough time alone to himself to be reasonably hammered. We walked in, still in our swimsuits, to him screaming for us to come out of our rooms and get downstairs 'immediately'. I told Ruby to hide in her closet until I came for her. She was reluctant at first, but finally after some persuasion, she went."

"I found him in the living room, sitting in his chair, watching something on sports center. Without warning, he jumped at me, tackling me to the ground. I'd heard about this, seen it in movies, but never in my life did I think my own father would try to rape me. He tore my bikini top off, pinning my body down, and trying to work on the bottoms. Thankfully the alcohol did me a favor this time, he threw up, then passed out on top of me, without doing any further damage. I was able to push him off of me, and retreat upstairs, praying the entire time he wouldn't remember what happened. I felt so dirty, knowing he almost violated me like that. When I went to get Ruby, she practically tackled me again, so grateful I was okay. She told me I was screaming like he was trying to kill me."

"It took me a while to get over the rape-attempt, when I would shower, I would just scrub every part of my body over and over, trying to get the disgusting feeling off my skin. The only comfort I was able to find was a few weeks later, when I had sex with Beck for the first time. And then again a second time a short time after. The idea that I could save myself for marriage went straight out the window, at no fault to Beck, the decision was all mine."

"I had a project to work on with Beck the second or third week of our senior year. Ruby had just started at the same high school as us, and she was thriving, so I figured she'd be fine home alone for an hour or so, as long as I got home before Dad did. Which I did. However, while I was in the shower, Dad came home early. When Ruby hadn't started dinner at 4:30 in the afternoon, he got so angry, and hit her repeatedly. I got out of the shower to find her in a crumpled mess on the floor, Dad nowhere to be found. That's when I knew..."

"Knew what?" The interviewer asks

"That we had to leave."


	25. Chapter 25

**Channel 6 Presents An 80 Minutes Special Report: Defending the Defenseless**

**Featuring the story of America's favorite pair of celebrity sisters, Jade Oliver and Ruby Samuels **

Anchor: Child abuse. It's a tragic thing. But often, it happens without us even knowing. Tonight, we feature of one of those tragic stories. It's the story of award-winning screenwriter, Jade Oliver, and her little sister, pop music sensation, Ruby Samuels.

Jade: From as far back as I can remember, my father never took interest in me. He and my mother were civil to each other, but I can honestly never remember a time I saw them 'in love', so to speak. Except maybe once, when my sister Ruby was born. They both looked genuinely happy that day. It didn't last long though, he always seemed annoyed with either me, my mother, or the new baby. So when they got a divorce around my eighth birthday, I wasn't all that surprised, even though I didn't fully understand.

_*pictures of Jade and Ruby as children flash across the screen as Jade continues to talk*_

Dad didn't live with us anymore, we moved into an apartment with Mom. But we still had to go back to our old house every other weekend to see him. At first, I looked forward to those visits. He always took us to do all these fun things. We were regulars at Six Flags- Magic Mountain. We'd go to the movies, or bowling, or roller skating, and we'd stay up all night eating pizza and drinking pop Mom would never let us have, watching movies. The older I got, I started to realize he wasn't doing these things because he loved us, he was doing them to anger my mom.

She didn't seem bothered though, she was remarried by the time I was eleven, and Ruby was eight. His name was John, I think of him as my father now, not my real dad. My sister and I both thought the world of him, which made our real dad furious. I noticed a major change in him that year. All the fun things we used to do, never happened anymore. He was hostile towards us, if I hadn't been old enough to work a DVD player and a microwave, I don't know what would've happened to us. He didn't talk to us, and it was a rare occasion if he remembered to feed us. He put on a face for Mom though, denied everything we said, blaming our 'wild' imaginations. For some reason, she believed him.

_*pictures of Jade and Ruby holding Caleb, pictures of the three children with Maggie and John Avery_*

The first year of Caleb's life was when I discovered what alcohol can really do to a person. How it can warp someone's personality, turn them into something they're not. I remember hiding in Ruby's closet at our Dad's house, telling her we had to stay dead quiet, so he would forget we we're there. Meanwhile, he stormed around downstairs, flipping furniture and punching walls, drunk out of his mind. At that point, we knew what he was capable of, so we didn't dare tell Mom."

That summer, I met Beck Oliver. He had just moved in about two blocks away from my Mom, from Canada. He was enrolled at the same performing arts high school as I was in the fall. We were your typical 'best friends who fall in love' story. We we're dating by our second week of high school. Mom and John both loved him, Ruby got along with him, but I didn't dare introduce him to my Dad.

The summer between freshman and sophomore year, Mom, John, Ruby and I went to spend a week at John's parents lake house up in Northern California. They let me bring Beck. One night, John took Beck, Ruby and I out on a boat on the lake to go stargazing, while Mom stayed at the house with Caleb. I remember that night so clearly. it was dark and we were on the water, so the temperature had dropped. I was wearing Beck's hoodie and he had his arm around me. Ruby kept exclaiming how gross it was and John was giving him a hard time, the way Dad's do. That might was the first time I felt comfortable enough to call John 'Dad', so I did. And I kept doing it, eventually, Ruby did too."

*_pictures of a young Beck and Jade, some with an even younger Ruby and Caleb, and some with Maggie and John Avery*_

Then came that fateful day in September. I was in Sikowitz's fourth hour improv class. Lane, the guidance counselor, came into the classroom to get me, told me I was going home, that he'd explain when we got to his office. I got scared, and started imagining the worst case scenario. I was right, he sat me down and told me that my mom, step-father, and little brother had been in a car accident, and that they had all been DOA, dead on arrival. My dad was coming to get me.

Ruby: I was left in my father's custody, along with my older sister. I was twelve. She was fifteen. And he was the devil. He was drunk whenever he was home, and he grew abusive towards my sister and I. Especially Jade, to this day, we don't know if it was because she was older, or if he just had it out for her, but there was always a new bruise, a new cut, something to mark that he had been there. She covered it all up with make up so no one ever found out. I had nightmares. Terrible nightmares, on the borderline of night terrors. My dad didn't care, the only person who did was Jade.

Jade: She would wake up screaming at night, calling for Mom and John, and he did nothing. Leaving me to play the role of the parent. I would go into her room and try to comfort her, eventually there came a point when an episode occurred, I just ended up sleeping in her bed with her, just to give her something familiar and comforting near her.

Ruby: She always came to my rescue at night when I had an episode. I felt bad, she was more my parent than my dad was. Then, he started to hit me.

Jade:I felt terrible the first time that happened, like I had failed to protect her. That night I stayed up with her until four am, trying to calm her down enough to sleep. She was only thirteen. I couldn't turn him in, I told Ruby she couldn't either. We didn't have anyone else, no other family to turn to, so if we were removed from his custody, we'd most likely be put in foster care. If that happened, the chances of us being split up were very high. And we were all each other had left, I couldn't let that happen.

I was depressed, my entire life had changed, there we're times I considered breaking into my Dad's liquor stash, but I could never bring myself to do it. I stopped inviting Beck over, and he didn't understand. He thought I was seeing some other guy, and that's why I ignored him. So he broke up with me. I was heartbroken in a broken home. Dad got mad at me for 'moping around all the time', and not doing what he asked immediately when he asked. One night, he hit me so hard, half my face swelled up and turned puffy, thank god Ruby was asleep. So I snuck out and ran to the only person I thought I could trust. Beck. I showed up sobbing at the door to his RV, which was three miles from my Dad's house, clutching my face and sobbing. Then he understood.

We hung in there for another few months. One day, he came home with a new car for me. I told Ruby I thought he stole it, it was a really nice car. That was the last nice thing he ever did for me. Shortly there after, Beck, Ruby, one of her friends, and I took a day trip to Venice Beach. It was a fun day, Ruby was old enough her and her friend could run off without me worrying about them, and I could enjoy time with my boyfriend. However, when Beck dropped us off that night, Dad was already home from work, and had enough time alone to himself to be reasonably hammered. We walked in, still in our swimsuits, to him screaming for us to come out of our rooms and get downstairs 'immediately'. I told Ruby to hide in her closet until I came for her. She was reluctant at first, but finally after some persuasion, she went.

Ruby: He tried to rape her. She sent me upstairs so I wouldn't get hurt, too. I sat in my closet, listening to her scream and cry, it was terribly painful, I thought he was killing her.

Jade: Without warning, he jumped at me, tackling me to the ground. I'd heard about this, seen it in movies, but never in my life did I think my own father would try to rape me. He tore my bikini top off, pinning my body down, and trying to work on the bottoms. Thankfully the alcohol did me a favor this time, he threw up, then passed out on top of me, without doing any further damage. I was able to push him off of me, and retreat upstairs, praying the entire time he wouldn't remember what happened. I felt so dirty, knowing he almost violated me like that.

Ruby: I sat in my closet, listening to her scream and cry, it was terribly painful, I thought he was killing her. I told myself, if she didn't make it, I'd call the police, get him arrested, because I'd have no one left at that point. But, she did make it, he passed out before he could do anything too bad to her. I started crying when she opened the closet door, I tackled her in a hug, I was so scared to lose her. I don't know how she did it. She stayed so strong, took so much abuse from him.

Jade: When I would shower, I would just scrub every part of my body over and over, trying to get the disgusting feeling off my skin. The only comfort I was able to find was a few weeks later, when I had sex with Beck for the first time. And then again a second time a short time after. The idea that I could save myself for marriage went straight out the window, at no fault to Beck, the decision was all mine.

I had a project to work on with Beck the second or third week of our senior year. Ruby had just started at the same high school as us, and she was thriving, so I figured she'd be fine home alone for an hour or so, as long as I got home before Dad did. Which I did. However, while I was in the shower, Dad came home early. When Ruby hadn't started dinner at 4:30 in the afternoon, he got so angry, and hit her repeatedly. I got out of the shower to find her in a crumpled mess on the floor, Dad nowhere to be found. That's when I knew we had to leave.

Ruby: I don't know what made her finally snap, but one day, after he had beat me, she decided we were done. That we had to leave. So we did.

Jade: I just couldn't stand it anymore," Jade continues "I had to get us out of there. So we packed up all of our stuff, loaded up my car, and we left. I was just acting on a whim, I had maybe six hundred dollars with me that I had saved up over the years, which in reality, wouldn't get us very far for very long. I didn't have a job, or a plan. Somehow, we ended up at Beck's RV. He knew exactly what was going on, so he took us in. He grabbed some of his sisters old bedding from his parent's basement, and put it on his couch for Ruby. He and I slept in his full size bed. I don't know what we would've done if it wasn't for him. He saved us both.

Beck: I wanted to kill him. I think Jade would've let me too, if the state wouldn't have out them in foster care. So I did what I knew would be the right thing, I took them both in. My parents hated Jade already, so the fact she was living with me now, made the situation even worse. I reminded them of the deal they made with me when I got the RV, 'my roof, my rules.', but the relationship was still strained. And we couldn't afford to tell anyone the truth about why they had left.

Jade: That was a Friday night. That Monday, I started to feel really sick. I just wrote it off to stress from the previous weekend. My best friend, Cat Valentine, tried to convince me it might be something else. I didn't believe her, more like I didn't _want_ to believe her. Until the next day, when the same thing happened again.

Ruby: I knew something was up. She could handle anything, and a little stomach bug was bothering her? Cat drove me to and from school that day. When I got back to the RV that night, what I saw frightened me. Jade was clutching a pillow, sobbing hysterically, Beck had his head in his hands, like he was trying to figure out what had happened. I was really scared, I thought one of them was dying, or my Dad had found out where we were, and was taking some kind of legal action to get us back.

Anchor: As it turns out, stress was far from the cause of the problem. Jade, as it turns out, was nine weeks pregnant.

Jade: I was so scared, for us, and for the baby, I didn't want them to have to suffer for my mistakes. I knew I had to keep it, I wasn't going to abandon my child like my Dad had abandoned us.

Beck: We didn't know what we were going to do. The three of us could barely live comfortably in my RV as it was, there was no way we could add another body, even if it was a tiny one. So we decided we'd buy a house. I got two jobs, working four hours at a car garage Monday through Thursday, for about ten dollars an hour. And then Friday, Saturday, Sunday I delivered pizzas for minimum wage. It all added up to about two hundred dollars a week. Jade had about six hundred saved up, but it eventually came down to a house, or baby stuff...

Ruby: They forbid me to get a job too, but I did anyway." I smile "I told them I went to drama club, when in reality I was making $7.25 at the pet store across the street from the school

Jade:We we're furious with her when we found out. But thanks to Ruby, we had enough money to buy our little girl everything she needed, and put a down payment on a house. Things we're going great, until the night of the big showcase. Kiddo here gave a killer performance, that was the night I knew she'd amount to something huge. But after the show, Beck and I went out to dinner, to celebrate _his_ performance, and Ruby had a friend drop her off at the RV, when she got there...

*_A video of Ruby singing 'Let It Be' at the showcase is shown* _

Ruby: My dad was waiting for me. Luckily, I was able to dial Beck and Jade and out my phone on speaker without him said some terrible things about Jade...And...he stabbed me. Then he ran out. Leaving me to bleed to death.

Jade: Luckily, I had answered her call and heard the whole thing. I was so scared, and kicking myself for letting him to get to her and not being there to protect her. God, when I found her, laying there half-conscious, covered in blood, I swear my heart stopped. I rode in the ambulance, slept on the couch in her hospital room, because if there's one thing scarier than waking up in a hospital room, it's waking up in a hospital room alone.

Ruby: A week, and seven stitches later, I was good as new. But my father was no where to be found. Jade still wouldn't go to the police, but we moved on with life. We moved into the new house, Beck and Jade completely furnished and decorated my new bedroom. I felt safe, because he didn't know where we were. I was still having nightmares though...

Jade: It was when Ruby continued to have nightmares, despite being in a new safe environment, that I decided to turn to the police. Specifically, one of my my best friend's fathers, Officer David Vega.

David: I had two daughters of a similar age, and their story made me want to kill that man. Knowing what he did to them. I wondered how he slept at night.

Jade: About a week later, on my eighteenth birthday, Beck proposed, and told me he wanted to be married before the baby came. So I found a decent looking white maternity dress, Ruby and Cat and Tori found matching dresses left from the Christmas sales, and Beck and his friends found matching ties. We rented a few hotel rooms and a conference room at the holiday in a few towns over, and had ourselves a wedding.

Ruby: On the car ride home from the wedding the following afternoon, Jade's water broke.

Anchor: On May 16th, 2013, Sophie Marie Oliver was born at Hollywood Hospital.

_*pictures of various people holding Sophie, including Jade, Beck and Ruby*_

Ruby: They graduated high school like two weeks later. I sat in the audience with Sophie, but I'm pretty sure everyone thought she was mine. That was the night I met my husband.

Trevor: I saw her sitting there with a baby, by herself with no one else around. And I thought to myself 'okay this chick has to have a story...'. We've been together ever since.

Ruby: When Sophie was about five weeks old, my Dad resurfaced. This time, with his new wife...

Jade: He stormed into the house while Beck was at work, shot me in the arm, and kidnapped the girls.

Ruby: They held us hostage, tripping to convince me we were both his daughters, that Jade didn't exist. He got so fed up with Sophie's crying, he stormed out and disappeared, leaving me with my technical step-mom. When the police found us, I had been severely beaten, and Sophie was extremely malnourished, since they couldn't stop her crying long enough to feed her.

David: He was gone without a trace. We arrested Trixi, she's still in prison. But Patrick was just ...gone. Again.

Jade: I didn't care, I was just so happy to have them both back safe.

Trevor: He kind of left them alone for the remainder of the year. He confronted me and Ruby once when we went to school to decorate my locker, but I stood up to him, tried to scare him, when in reality I was terrified of him and what he could do to me, but he just left. We didn't see him again until New Years...

Jade: Ruby and Trevor got caught at a New Year's party where underage drinking had occurred, so I pulled myself out of bed at 1:30 in the morning to go get them. On the way home...

Ruby: The car just came out of nowhere. Everything went black.

Trevor: Ruby, Sophie and I had been in the backseat. When we came to, we were a little beat up, nothing bad. I think the worst was Ruby's sprained wrist. But Jade and the front of the car were gone.

Ruby: She was in a coma. Cat came home from New York, Tori rearranged her class schedule. Sophie would just scream for hours because she wanted her mom and didn't understand.

Beck: I had to get a third job just to pay the medical bills.

Trevor: Ruby was the worst, I was honestly afraid she was going to hurt herself. It killed me to see her like that and know there wasn't much I could do to help her...

Ruby: Have you ever gotten in a fight with your best friend? Or for some reason stopped talking to them? Like when somebody moves, or transfers schools? You know that terrible feeling you get in the pit of your stomach? That feeling of sadness and/or anger? And you just can't seem to shake that feeling no matter what you do?

That's how I felt all the time. That feeling in the pit of my stomach never goes away. In a way, I've temporarily lost my sister...

Jade: Apparently, I woke up in just the nick of time, if I had gone another three hours or something, they we're going to pull my plug and let me die. But then things started to look up when I got out of the hospital, Sophie turned one, Beck got a lead in a movie, and

Beck: I got her pregnant again...

Ruby: I think she made it about eighteen weeks before Dad came back. Long story short, he threw a couple punches, and Jade lost the baby.

Beck:I was filming in New York. I wanted to come home. She wouldn't let me, there is nothing more painful than finding out you've lost a child. So when I came back, I made sure everything that needed to be taken care of, was.

Trevor: I took Ruby out to dinner for our anniversary. I paid the check, went to the bathroom, but when I came back, she was gone.

Ruby: He drove me out to the middle of nowhere, beat me up, and left me to die. Luckily, a jogger using a nearby path found me.

Jade: I broke the speed limit a good five times trying to get to her. I wanted to kill him. But he was gone again.

Beck: I knew we weren't safe anymore, so with the money I got from my movie, I moved us into a gated community, where he couldn't get to them.

Jade: We thought we were good, it had been a few months since we last saw him, we were in a new location he wasn't aware of, I thought it was over.

Ruby: I went back to the old house with Jade to get the last few boxes of our things before the house was offically sold. And...he got us. I don't think either one of us saw it coming.

Beck: I was at the new house with Sophie and Trevor, we were going to go out to dinner when they got back. It was supposed to be a real quick stop. Neither one of them would answer their phones... I knew someghing was wrong.

David: Beck called me in a panic. It didn't take long to launch an investigation. I was determined to catch this guy once and for all.

Jade: He kept us locked in a basement, we were both pretty beat up. Ruby was worse off than I was though. We had to get out.

Ruby: I don't remember much, Jade says I went in and out of consciousness all four days.

Beck: I was so scared. He had almost taken Jade from me once before earlier that year. I was so scared to lose her again...it felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest.

Anchor: Jade and Ruby managed to escape after four days and three nights of captivity. They were weak from lack of food, but managed to make it out to the front gate.

Jade: We tripped his alarm system. We were both weak, but took off running anyways. We were in the mountains, somewhere in a forrest. He followed us in his truck, but we stayed off the main road. We stopped to catch our breath at a tourist stop on the trail, but he knew we'd go there apparently. Thats when he told us the truth.

Anchor: Patrick West had been the other driver in the accident that killed the girl's mother, step-father and brother. He was determined to make the girls meet the same end.

Ruby: He started toward us in the truck, Jade jumped on me and we tumbled out of the way just in time. Apparently his breaks sucked, and he went over the edge of the cliff behind us.

Trevor: My heart exploded when Beck called me that morning. It was only like 1:30, but I was up and ready to go pick them up.

David: He broke his neck in the fall. There was no possible way he could have survived. The case was closed. Beck and Jade adopted Ruby so they could stay together as a family. From the outside, everything looked okay.

Anchor: Jade and Ruby continue to suffer consequences of their father's actions to this day.

_*pictures of Jade, Ruby, their husbands and children*_

Jade: I still struggle with the self-consciousness he inflicted on me. I still have terrible flashbacks sometimes.

Ruby: I still have nightmares, and night terrors. Jade and I both have some kind of PTSD.

Trevor: It kills me when she has an episode. Knowing there's nothing I can do, try as I do, to erase the past.

Beck: If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him. I hope he burns in hell. I hate watching them suffer.

Ruby: My advice to someone suffering the same things we did? Don't wait as long as we did. Get out right now. Minimize the suffering.

Jade: If this helps just one kid from going through what I did, then that's enough for me.


	26. Chapter 26

_Ruby's POV_

"Well. It's out there now." I sigh and switch the TV off "No taking it back."

"You did the right thing." Trevor assures me and kisses my cheek "Gave someone out there the courage to stand up for themselves."

My phone buzzes on the bed next to me.

_*New Text Message*_

_From: Jade_

_I'm going to Jed's. Wanna use your Christmas present? _

I show Trevor the phone.

"Sure." He shrugs "If you want."

_Sure_. I respond. _Are we meeting?_

_*New Text Message*_

_From: Jade_

_I'll pick you up in five. Be ready._

* * *

"A-A-R-O-N T-R-E-V-O-R, J-O-N-A-H T-H-O-M-A-S, and O-L-I-V-I-A J-A-D-E." I spell out for the tattoo artist "Then below that, 06-12-22".

"How does this look?" He asks as he finishes up the sketch and pushes it towards me

It consists of the babies's names spelled out in simple lettering, each name stacked on top of one another, with their birthdate below Olivia's name.

"Perfect." I smile

"And where did you say you want it?" He asks "Your shoulder blade?"

"Yeah, my right one." I tell him

"Okay. Let's get this done for you then." He gestures to the tattoo chair that isn't being occupied by my sister.

I'm no stranger to tattoos. I have a heart on my ankle that I got in high school, my sixteenth birthday present from Trevor. Jade almost had a heart attack when she saw it. On the inside of my left middle finger, I have a queen of hearts "Q" symbol, Trevor has the same one, except the king. We got them when we got engaged. Then after we got married, we got puzzle pieces on our lower forearms ,closer to our wrists. Mine is on my left, a flesh piece with a black heart, his is on his right, a black piece with a flesh heart. When I sold my first album, I got "Let It Be..." On the heel of my right hand.

"So you sure this is what you want?" The guys asks as he wiped my shoulder off with an alcohol pad

"Positive." I respond "Mind if I put my headphones in?"

Music helps me take my mind off any pain I might experience, in any circumstance.

"I could honestly care less." He shrugs

"Alright."

I pull my headphones out of my purse, plug them into my phone, and tune out the world.

_You better take it from me, that boy is like a disease_

_You're running, you're trying, you're trying to hide_

_And you're wondering why you can't get free_

I flinch as the needle connects with my skin and it starts to sting.

_He's like a curse, he's like a drug_

_You get addicted to his love_

_You wanna get out but he's holding you down_

_'Cause you can't live without one more touch_

_He's a good time cowboy casanova_

_Leaning up against the record machine_

_Looks like a cool drink of water_

_But he's candy-coated misery_

_He's the devil in disguise_

_A snake with blue eyes_

_And he only comes out at night_

_Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight_

_You better run for your life_

_I see that look on your face_

_You ain't hearing what I say_

_So I'll say it again_

_'Cause I been where you been_

_And I know how it ends_

_You can't get away_

_Don't even look in his eyes_

_He'll tell you nothing but lies_

_And you wanna believe_

_But you won't be deceived_

_If you listen to me_

_And take my advice_

_He's a good time cowboy casanova_

_Leaning up against the record machine_

_Looks like a cool drink of water_

_But he's candy-coated misery_

_He's the devil in disguise_

_A snake with blue eyes_

_And he only comes out at night_

_Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight_

_You better run for your life_

_Run run away_

_Don't let him mess with your mind_

_He'll tell you anything you want to hear_

_He'll break your heart_

_It's just a matter of time_

_But just remember_

_He's a good time cowboy casanova_

_Leaning up against the record machine_

_Looks like a cool drink of water_

_But he's candy-coated misery_

_He's the devil in disguise_

_A snake with blue eyes_

_And he only comes out at night_

_Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight_

_You better run for your life_

_Oh you better run for your life_

_Oh you better run for your life_

Someone taps my hand, I open my eyes to see Jade standing in front of me. I smile at her, but don't take my headphones out. The next song starts.

_We're a thousand miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea_

_But as long as you are with me, there's no place I'd rather be_

She holds out her right wrist and shows me the fresh 'VKO' she got under the 'BJO' and 'SMO' that were already there.

I expect her to stop there, put she also shows me a small 'JCO' between a set of angel wings on the inside of her right thumb.

I smile a sympathetic smile, she returns the gesture. Then walks away presumably to pay.


	27. Chapter 27

Ruby's POV

"Aunt Ruby!" Sophie calls "Look!"

She dances around the living room to the music playing from the stereo, Aaron crawls around her feet, Jonah and Livy play nearby them.

Jade had to take Violet to a doctor's appointment, Beck had to work, so I picked Sophie up from school today and I'm watching her for a while. Trevor had some meetings to go to today, so it's nice to have another person around to help me with the babies.

"Come dance with me!" She smiles

"Oh I don't know kiddo..." I sigh, I'm kinda tired

"Please!" She begs, running up to me and staring at me with huge puppy dog eyes

"You can't use that on me!" I laugh "I taught you that!"

"You said it works every time, though." She reminds me "Come on Aunt Ruby, don't be a liar."

I let out a sigh that probably sounds more like a laugh to her.

"You're just like your mom, you know that?" I tell her

"Daddy tells me that all the time!" She giggles, taking my hand and dragging me back towards the living room "Come on Aunt Ruby, dance!"

"I'm dancing goofball! What does it look like?" I laugh as I move back and forth with her

The song she had been playing ends and another one starts to play. It's a song all to familiar to me, that came out my junior year of high school. Sophie seems to love it to this day though.

"Sing Aunt Ruby!" She begs

"Nah I'm good." I tease

"Please!"

"Oh alright fine." I roll my eyes " I stay out too late, Got nothing in my brain, That's what people say, mmm-mmm,That's what people say, mmm-mmm"

Sophie giggles and grabs my hands, spinning in circles around me.

"_I go on too many dates_

_But I can't make them stay_

_At least that's what people say, mmm-mmm_

_That's what people say, mmm-mmm_"

Jonah starts to fuss from his pot on the floor.

"Come on bud," I smile and pick him up, resting him on my hip "Dance with Mommy."

Livy, jealous of the attention she's not getting, starts to fuss, so I pick her up too.

Jeez, I hope Aaron doesn't want up as well

"_But I keep cruising_

_Can't stop, won't stop moving_

_It's like I got this music_

_In my mind_

_Saying, 'It's gonna be alright._'"

"Aunt Ruby can I dance with Aaron?" Sophie asks

"If you're very careful." I warn

"Don't worry!" She assures me as she picks the baby up "I will be!"

"'_Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play_

_And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate_

_Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_I shake it off, I shake it off_

_Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break_

_And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake_

_Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_I shake it off, I shake it off_

_I never miss a beat_

_I'm lightning on my feet_

_And that's what they don't see, mmm-mmm_

_That's what they don't see, mmm-mmm_

_I'm dancing on my own_

_I make the moves up as I go_

_And that's what they don't know, mmm-mmm_

_That's what they don't know, mmm-mmm_

_But I keep cruising_

_Can't stop, won't stop grooving_

_It's like I got this music_

_In my mind_

_Saying, 'It's gonna be alright.'_

_'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play_

_And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate_

_Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_I shake it off, I shake it off_

_Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break_

_And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake_

_Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_I shake it off, I shake it off_

_Shake it off, I shake it off,_

_I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,_

_I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,_

_I, I, I shake it off, I shake it of_f"

"Take it, Soph!" I smile to the little girl

I know she knows the entire song

"_Just think while you've been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world,_

_You could've been getting down to this sick bea_t." I chant before Sophie joins in

"_My ex-man brought his new girlfriend_

_She's like "Oh, my god!" but I'm just gonna shake._

_And to the fella over there with the hella good hair_

_Won't you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shake_"

"You can do it now." She blushes and plays with Aaron's hand

"'_Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play_

_And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate (haters gonna hate)_

_I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_I shake it off, I shake it off_

_Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break (mmmm)_

_And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake (and fake, and fake, and fake)_

_Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_

_I shake it off, I shake it off"_

"Oh no." Jade groans as she walks in the front door, carrying Violet's carseat "Not _this_ song again."

"Hi Mom!" Sophie waves

"Careful, Sophie Marie," Jade warns "Two hands on the baby. He's just like Violet."

"Sorry."

"Hey." I say walking over to my sister "How was the doctor?"

"She's totally healthy." Jade shrugs "But if another reporter yells _'Jade why did you keep your past a secret for so long?_' or something along those lines at me again, I'm going to punch someone."

"People like that is the exact reason." I sigh "Just wait, it'll die down."

"Until we get asked to speak at a benefit or something." She rolls her eyes "Maybe this whole thing was a mistake..."

"No." I correct her "No it was the right thing to do. We're gonna get through this."


	28. Chapter 28

_Jade's POV_

I knew when I fell asleep, Sophie would probably be joining Beck and I in bed tonight, with the way the radar was looking. So when I heard her whisper 'Mommy?' Can I sleep with you tonight?', I didn't even have to think before throwing the sheets off and letting her climb I between Beck and I.

She's asleep now, clinging to me like we could be ripped a part at any second and we would never see each other again. For some reason, I smile. It's nice to know she still depends on me for something.

"She's almost ten..." Beck murmurs "We need to start working on this fear of thunder."

"It might be pathological." I whisper, careful not to wake my daughter "You never know."

"Patho-what?!" He asks

"Pathological." I chuckle "You know. An irrational fear of something that poses little or no danger, but still causes you a lot off anxiety because you're just _that_ scared? Come on, didn't you read Because of Winn-Dixie?"

"No." Beck smirks "Did you?"

"Yeah." I say proudly "I read it to Sophie when she was six or seven."

"Here's a gold star." He laughs "Anyway back to the point. We need to try and help her overcome this fear."

"How? We can't just _abandon_ her."

Another crack of thunder echoes above the house. Sophie cringes and moves closer to me.

"I never said we had to _abandon_ her." He sighs "Maybe next time we lay with her in her bed until the storm is over. Try that for a while. Then just lay with her in her bed until she falls asleep, then leave. Small steps, make it a process."

"Alright." I sigh "I guess."

"Good." He nods and starts to get up "Now let me take her back to bed."

"No." I insist and pull her a little closer to me "Come on, just one more time..."

* * *

_"BECK!" Ruby yells. _

_He jolts awake and falls out of bed. I jump slightly, but not as much as Beck did._

_"What the hell Ruby?" I grumble sleepily._

_"She's been calling for you for the past 20 minutes." She explains gesturing to the hiccupping baby in her arms._

_Aw, she was crying so hard she has the hiccups._

_"Oh I'm sorry baby." Beck coos as he gets up "Are you scared of the thunder?"_

_Sophie nods as she passes her to him._

_"Here, you can lay right here in between me and Mommy okay? Just be careful okay? Don't bump Mommy too hard, we don't wanna hurt her even more than we have okay?"_

_Ruby sighs and goes back to her room._

_And so the age of screaming-whenever- there's a-thunderstorm begins._

* * *

"Alright." He lays back down

"Momma?" Sophie whimpers

We must've woken her.

"It's okay baby." I whisper and kiss her forehead "I'm here. It's okay."

"It's loud." She whispers and snuggles up to me

"I know." I sigh "But thats all it is, loud. It can't hurt you."

"But it's scary."

"I know, I know."

We lay in silence for a few minutes. I don't know where her fear of thunder comes fro,, I find thunderstorms relaxing, and so does Ruby. It must be Beck's side...

"Mommy?" Sophie breaks the silence "Will you sing to me?"

"Will that help you fall asleep?"

She nods.

"Alright." I sigh

"_You won't find him drinking at the table_

_Rolling dice or staying out 'til three_

_You won't ever find him be unfaithful_

_You will find him, you'll find him next to me_

_You won't find him tryna chase the devil_

_For money, fame, for power, out of greed_

_You won't ever find him where the rest go_

_You will find him, you'll find him next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_You will find him, you'll find him next to me_

_When the money's spent and all my friends have vanished_

_And I can't seem to find no help or love for free_

_I know there's no need for me to panic_

_Cause I'll find him, I'll find him next to me_

_When the skies are grey and all the doors are closing_

_And the rising pressure makes it hard to breathe_

_When all I need's a hand to stop the tears from falling_

_I will find him, I'll find him next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_I will find him, I'll find him next to me_

_When the end has come and buildings falling down fast_

_When we've spoilt the land and dried up all the sea_

_When everyone has lost their heads around us_

_You will find him, you'll find him next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_You will find him, you'll find him next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_Next to me_

_You will find him, you'll find him next to me_"

"Daddy's always next to you, right mommy?" She asks

"He sure is." I smile "One day you'll find a guy who will always be next to you, too."

"Boys are icky." She shakes her head

"You keep thinking like that, okay?" I chuckle "Never grow up."

"Okay, Mom."


	29. Chapter 29

_Ruby's POV_

Beams of sunlight shine through the cracks in the curtains, streaming across my face as I open my eyes and stretch my arms. I lean over to kiss Trevor good morning, but he's not there. I almost panic when he opens the bedroom door, dressed in a nice shirt, tie and jeans, holding one of his acoustic guitars.

"Good morning." I laugh

He smirks at me and begins to strum a few chords on the guitar...

"_When your legs don't work like they used to before_

_And I can't sweep you off of your feet_

_Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?_

_Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?_

_And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70_

_And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23_

_And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways_

_Maybe just the touch of a hand_

_Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day_

_And I just wanna tell you I am_

_So honey now_

_Take me into your loving arms_

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Place your head on my beating heart_

_I'm thinking out loud_

_That maybe we found love right where we are_

_When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades_

_And the crowds don't remember my name_

_When my hands don't play the strings the same way_

_I know you will still love me the same_

_'Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen_

_And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory_

_I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways_

_"Maybe it's all part of a plan_

_Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes_

_Hoping that you'll understand_

_But, baby, now_

_Take me into your loving arms__Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Place your head on my beating heart_

_Thinking out loud_

_That maybe we found love right where we are_

_So, baby, now_

_Take me into your loving arms_

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart_

_I'm thinking out loud_

_That maybe we found love right where we are_

_Oh, baby, we found love right where we are"_

_And we found love right where we are..._"

"Awwww." I blush "I love you."

"I love you too." He kisses me "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day."

* * *

"Good morning, my little love bugs." I coo as I enter the nursery to get the babies up "Happy Valentine's Day!"

They've probably been up for hours, but Trevor and I...well you can probably guess what we did after he sang to me, so that pushed our regular schedule back an hour and a half.

I'm met by three smiling faces, excited to see me.

"Miss Olivia." I smile as I lift her out of her crib and carry her over to the changing table.

I change her diaper and dress her in an outfit that consists of a red long-sleeved shirt that says 'I'm Daddy's Valentine' in pink letters, and pink and red striped leggings. I add a white headband with a red flower on it.

"Baby girls are so fun to dress." I sigh as I set her down on the floor to play and go back for the boys "You guys are fun too...but her clothes are cuter."

I repeat the same process with Jonah, dressing him in a white long-sleeved onsie that says 'Certified Stud Muffin'.

"Uh babe?" Trevor says from behind me "Lose something?"

I turn around to see him standing in the doorway, towel wrapped around his waist, his hair ruffled and damp. He probably just got out of the shower and he's holding...Olivia?

"Olivia Jade." I gasp "Did you crawl to find Daddy?"

"She sure did." Trevor smiles, playing with her hand, causing the baby to smiles "She was in our room when I got out of the shower."

Aaron and Jonah had started crawling within days of each other, and Olivia well..didn't. They say all babies develop at different paces, but she was starting to scare us a little.

"We're gonna have to call Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck and tell them what you did." I tell her "They'll be so proud of you!"

* * *

"How's dinner?" Trevor asks me later that night as we sit at the dinner table

We decided to have a late dinner after the kids had gone to sleep, since our go-to babysitters Beck and Jade had Valentine's Day plans of their own. I offered to cook dinner, but Trevor told me to just give the kids their baths and put them to sleep, and that he would take care of it. Since apparently I 'always cook'. Which I guess is true.

When I came downstairs, wearing a bright red cocktail dress, he had candles set up all over the table, covered in a white table cloth. He wore the same outfit from this morning, but with a suit coat this time as well.

Now we sit at the table enjoying the dinner he made, Filet Mignon covered in Mushroom-Wine sauce, along with our glasses of red wine.

"I love you." He smiles at me randomly

"I love you too." I say getting up and sitting down on his lap, kissing him softly "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Dinner, candles, wine..." I tell him "The song this morning..."

"Anything for my superstar." He kisses me again "And you know how much I love to sing to you."

"Funny though, cause I'm the singer." I smirk "Let me sing to you now..."

"Okay." He smiles

"_You think I'm pretty, without any makeup on. You think it's funny, when I tell the punchline wrong_." I begin to sing to him "_I know you get me, so I let my walls come down_."

"_Before you met me_

_I was alright but things_

_Were kinda heavy_

_You brought me to life_

_Now every February_

_You'll be my Valentine, Valentine.._."

He's started kissing my neck, rather hard too, I'll probably have some hickies in the morning. I take his hand and lead him out of the dining room and into the living room. Still singing the entire way, as we try to keep our hands off each other.

"_Let's go all the way tonight_

_No regrets, just love_  
_We can dance, until we die_  
_You and I, will be young forever_..."

"Damn straight we will be." He whispers too me as he shoves me down onto the couch, yanking his tie off and unbuttoning his shirt.

"_You make me feel_

_Like I'm livin' a_  
_Teenage dream_  
_The way you turn me on_  
_I can't sleep_  
_Let's run away and_  
_Don't ever look bac-_"

He cuts me off when he starts pulling my dress over my head.

I decide to stop singing, I've got much better things to be doing.


	30. Chapter 30

_Ruby's POV_

"Rube." Trevor chuckles "Check out Livy."

I follow his point to see my daughter looking over Violet, who lays on her back on a blanket in the middle of Beck and Jade's living room.

"She fascinated by her." Beck observes

Trevor sits with his arm around my waist on one couch, Jade sits on Beck's lap on the couch opposite from us. Aaron, Jonah and Olivia crawl around on the floor between us, Violet lays on her blanket, and Sophie is somewhere upstairs.

"Maybe that's her way of telling you she wants one." Jade smirks

" . You're funny." I tease her "I have three kids under one year, no way in hell am I having another kid right now."

"Well..." Trevor shrugs

"No!" I exclaim and slap his shoulder

"Alright alright." He laughs "Oh hey! I have announcement!"

"Trevor!" Jade gasps "Are you pregnant?"

"Oh god I hope not." I laugh "What up babe?"

"You're funny Jade." He rolls his eyes "Anyway, guess who's number four on People's 'Hottest 25 Under 25' list?"

"Justin Bieber?" I tease him, earning me one of his death glares "I'm kidding. Gee...I don't know...you?"

"Damn straight!" He exclaims

"So your number four?" Beck asks "That means America's teenage female population thinks there's three guys under the age of twenty-five more attractive than you?"

"Excuse me!" Trevor gasps, pretending to be offended "I don't see your name on the list anywhere!"

"I'm twenty-eight." Beck reminds him

"Haha you're old." Jade teases him

"Your the same age as me." He scoffs

"I'm twenty-seven." She smirks

"Wow a whole five months younger."

"I'll remember that when you turn thirty." She kisses him

"Mhm."

"So they're gonna feature you in the magazine?" I ask, returning the conversation to it's original topic

"Yup!" He smiles "And they did an interview with me for the website."

"Oh we gotta watch this!" Beck exclaims, getting up to retrieve his laptop

"What kind of interview?" I ask

"It honestly reminded me of one of your PopTiger things." Trevor shrugs "No big deal."

"It's totally a big deal!" I tell him as Beck walks back into the room

"Which magazine did you say it was?" He asks

"People."

"It's right there." Jade points as Trevor and I get up to sit on the other couch with Beck and Jade

_"Hello and welcome to People Online." The interviewer smiles "I'm Maxine Walsh, here with our number four hottest guy under twenty-five, Mr. Trevor Samuels!"_

_The camera turns and Trevor is shown sitting in the chair across from the interviewer._

_"Welcome Trevor." She tells him "Thanks for talking to us."_

_"Well thank you for having me." He smiles_

"Aw you're so polite." I kiss his cheek

"Yeah yeah." He rolls his eyes, and we go back to watching the interview

_"So Trevor. You're different from most guys on our list. You're one hundred percent off the market. Right?"_

_"That's correct." He grins "Been married two and a half years."_

_"And most teenage girls are very jealous of your wife Ruby. You're apparently very popular with the ladies."_

_"Sorry ladies." He shrugs towards the camera "I'm off the market permanently."_

_"So I have a list of questions here that readers have sent in, we'll try to get through as many as we can in two minutes? Sound okay?"_

_"Sounds fine to me."_

_"What's your favorite color?"_

"Original." Jade laughs

"It's red." I say

_"Red." Trevor smiles on screen._

_"What's the best quality a girl can have?"_

_"She has to be one hundred percent comfortable with my awkwardness." He chuckles "Because I can be pretty awkward at times."_

Jade raises an eyebrow at me. I shrug, maybe when we first started dating, but not now.

"_Celebrity best friend?"_

_"Beck Oliver." Trevor chuckles "He's actually my brother-in-law."_

_Beck pumps his fist in the air and then fist bumps Trevor._

"Omg best friends forever!" Jade says in an annoying voice

"_Advice for someone on their first date?"_

_"Don't lie." Trevor shakes his head "You don't want to build a relationship on lies. Be honest from the start."_

_"Advice to guys who might want to potentially date your daughter, Olivia, one day?"_

_"Give up." Trevor says seriously "She's not dating until she's married, so sorry."_

Jonah starts to whine at my feet, slapping my shins with one of his hands, demanding attention.

"Hey baby." I smile and pick him up, sitting on my lap "Wanna watch with us?"

Jonah stares at the screen intently for a few seconds before

"DADA!" He giggles and points at the screen

"YES!" Trevor exclaims, jumping up, almost knocking the laptop over "YES YES YES! RUBY OWES ME TWENTY BUCKS!"

"I've sold _millions_ of albums." I roll my eyes "I can afford to give you twenty bucks."

"Care to explain?" Jade asks

"We put twenty bucks on each kid for them to say our name first." I explain

"And Jonah just won for _me_!" Trevor smiles, picking the baby up off my lap

"It's not a big deal." I roll my eyes "Aaron. Olivia. You better say 'mommy' first!"

"Come on Jonah. Do it again." Trevor begs "Dada! Dada!"

"DADA!" The baby giggles again

"YES!" Trevor cheers, throwing the baby up and catching him, bringing on an uncontrollable giggle fit from our son.

"Maybe we should put money on Vi..." Beck shrugs

"Absolutely not." Jade tells him

"Okay."

"I've got to tweet this!" Trevor exclaims and runs away to find his phone

"I think we're done." Beck closes the laptop

"Yeah he'll be on a cloud for the rest of the night." I sigh

"One of them has to say 'Mom' first..." Jade assures me "Sophie did."

"Sophie said 'Trevor' first technically." I remind her "And they'll say 'Dad' if they hear Jonah saying it."

"Not necessarily."

"Check out twitter." Beck chuckles, scrolling through his feed

I pull my phone out and unlock it, sure enough, there's Trevor's tweet. Along with a video of Jonah saying 'Dada' over and over again and giggling hysterically.

**TrevorEthanSamuels**: _Lil Guy made Daddy proud today #jonah #firstword #takethatruby_


	31. Chapter 31

_Ruby's POV_

"Miss Sophie Marie..." I sigh "Come eat or you don't get to watch Mom and Dad on TV."

"But the lady said they'll be on after the commercials!" Sophie whines from the living room

"You better hurry up then!" I tell her

"Fine." She groans and makes her way to the table where her fruit loops are waiting.

Beck and Jade flew to New York last night so they could be on the morning show 'Wake Up USA' this morning, leaving Trevor and I with Sophie and Violet for the night. When Sophie gets out of school this afternoon, we (including the triplets) will fly out to New York to meet them and take a mini family vacation for the weekend.

"Trevor!" I call to my husband who is still sitting in the living room "A little help, please?"

"Sorry!" He jumps up and comes to the kitchen "Whatcha need?"

"Wanna feed the boys?" I smile, holding up two jars of baby food

"Aw come on." He groans "I fed two at once yesterday!"

"And then I fed two at once at dinner." I remind him, placing the jars in his hands "Thank you."

Olivia begins to fuss in her high chair and throws one of her teething rings onto the floor.

"Just a second baby!" I coo, pulling a chair up close to her "Mommy's coming, don't worry."

Thankfully, Violet is still sleeping, otherwise this would be extremely interesting.

"Hello!" A voice from the TV says "Welcome back to Wake Up USA!"

Sophie grins and begins to stand up, put stops when I point at her and slowly sinks back into her chair and continues eating her breakfast. Trevor reaches over and grabs the remote to turn on the TV in the kitchen we almost never use. The screen lights up and the morning anchor's bright and smiling face lights up the screen.

"Here with me today we have one of America's most popular celebrity couples, Jade and Beck Oliver!"

"Mom and Dad!" Sophie exclaims "Aunt Ruby look!"

"I see them." I smile and continue feeding Olivia

"How are you guys this morning?" The anchor asks

"We're good." Beck tells her "There's something we need to do real quick before the interview starts though."

"And what would that be?"

"Hi Sophie! Hi Violet!" Jade waves towards the camera and blows a kiss in that general direction, which Sophie 'catches' in her hand and presses to her cheek "Hope you're having fun with Aunt Ruby, you better be behaving. Love you! Miss you! See you real soon!"

"How sweet." The anchor chuckles

"And Sophie, it's time for school now okay? Go get ready." Beck adds quickly

"Okay, Dad!" Sophie rolls her eyes and hops down from her chair.

She brings her bowl to the sink and starts walking towards the front door to out her shoes and jacket on, stopping to give me a kiss on the cheek on the way.

"I assume you'll want to watch this?" Trevor raises an eyebrow at me

"Please." I tell him

"No problem." He smiles, getting up and giving me a quick peck on the lips "Be right back. ALRIGHT SOPH! WHO'S READY TO GO TO SCHOOL!"

"MEEEE!" Sophie squeals

I chuckle as he helps her finish getting ready and then the two of them leave together, I then turn my attention back to the screen.

"So you two have had quite a year..." The anchor smiles "Beck you starred in Borderline, playing Dustin Summers. And Jade, you actually wrote the script for that movie, correct?"

"That's correct, yes." Jade grins

"Did you know your husband would be starring when you wrote the movie?"

"Not really." Jade shrugs "While I was writing Dustin's character, I told Beck that he should audition when the time rolled around, I thought it would be a good fit and I guess..."

"Let's just say she thought right." Beck smiles, putting an arm around her

"But that wasn't all that happened to you this year though...I understand you welcomed a new baby back in November?"

"That's right, Miss Violet Kaitlyn Oliver was born on November fifth." Beck tells her

A picture of Violet just after she was born appears on the screen.

"Look guys," I chuckle as the babies all look in different directions "Cousin Violet."

"She's adorable." The anchor coos "Now I don't mean to move this along so quickly but we only have so much time for your segment and there's a topic we still need to touch..."

The three of them laugh.

"But out of all seriousness, Jade, in the past month or so you and your sister, Ruby Samuels, have caught the attention of almost everybody in the nation..." The anchor says with a high amount of concern in her voice "I'm assuming everybody at home knows what I'm talking about, and I know you do too. So I want to ask the question everybody wants answered...why didn't you say anything?"

"We didn't want the constant reminder." Jade sighs "It was this really deep personal issue that we both struggled with for years, and we had managed to learn to cope with it. But when Morgan Cross approached us about possibly becoming advocates for the APSAC, we talked about it and we decided that our experience was part of who we were, you know? It wasn't something we should erase, as much as we want to, because it's part of what makes us...us."

"One day your kids are going to read about this on the internet...or hear about it from someone at school. What's your plan when one of them comes asking questions?"

"We're going to tell them the truth." Beck tells her "It's out there now, there's no use in trying to cover it up for them. The answer we give them will depend on how old they are. Sophie has heard a little about it and asked a couple questions...we basically have told her that Mom's real dad wasn't a very nice to her and Aunt Ruby, to anybody really, but that he's not around anymore. There's no need for her to know all of the...disturbing details right now. If she still wants to know more in a few years then we'll tell her."

"So sorry, but we've hot our time limit. Ladies and gentlemen...Beck and Jade Oliver."

* * *

"Wow you really do not like flying, do you baby girl?" I sigh as I rock Violet back and forth, walking up and down the isle of our jet.

"At least they've gotten over it..." Trevor gestures to our three sleeping babies in their carseats

I guess after a few months of touring the world with Mom and Dad they've adapted to flying.

"How is she sleeping through this?" I laugh, looking at Sophie who is passed out in her seat

"It's called 'she's nine, wearing headphones, and it's eleven o'clock at night'." Trevor chuckles

Violet continues to scream and I can only imagine if my kids were awake and just as uncomfortable...the exact reason why I tell Trevor we're not ready for another kid just yet.

"Violet, baby girl...it's okay." I whisper

"Try this..." Trevor suggests, handing me one of her bottles

"I already tried." I hand it back to him "She wouldn't take it."

"Try again?" He shrugs and gives it back

"Fine." I groan and sit down in the seat next to him "Here baby girl, want your bottle?"

Reluctantly, Violet begins sucking on the bottle calming her slightly.

"Song to her." Trevor adds

"I was getting there." I laugh "What song should I sing, baby girl?"

"The song you sang to Sophie last night!" Trevor exclaims, bouncing in his seat "Sing that one!"

"Are you five?" I ask him

"And a half!" He adds

I roll my eyes.

"_Your hand fits in mine_

_Like it's made just for me_

_But bear this in mind_

_It was meant to be_

_And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks_

_And it all makes sense to me_

_I know you've never loved_

_The crinkles by your eyes_

_When you smile_

_You've never loved_

_Your stomach or your thighs,_

_The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine_

_But I'll love them endlessly_

_I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth_

_But if I do_

_It's you_

_Oh, it's you they add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all these little things_

_You can't go to bed without a cup of tea_

_And maybe that's the reason that you talk in your sleep_

_And all those conversations are the secrets that I keep_

_Though it makes no sense to me_

_I know you've never loved_

_The sound of your voice on tape_

_You never want_

_To know how much you weigh_

_You still have to squeeze into your jeans_

_But you're perfect to me_

_I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth_

_But if it's true_

_It's you,_

_It's you they add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all these little things_

_You'll never love yourself half as much as I love you_

_And you'll never treat yourself right, darling, but I want you to._

_If I let you know I'm here for you_

_Maybe you'll love yourself like I love you, oh._

_And I've just let these little things slip out of my mouth_

_'Cause it's you,_

_Oh, it's you,_

_It's you they add up to_

_And I'm in love with you_

_And all these little things_

_I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth_

_But if it's true_

_It's you,_

_It's you they add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all your little things._.."

"I remember when you would sing that to Sophie when _she_ was a baby." Trevor smiles, stroking Violet's face with his thumb "It always made her so happy."

"Not as happy as Jade's singing would." I sigh "But babies do tend to love the sound of their mother's voice... I love little babies like this."

"Well then let's have another one!"

"Oh you want a baby?" I raise an eyebrow at him

He nods.

"Kay well you have _three_ asleep in car seats over there." I laugh and point "And they're all under a year old. I think we're okay for now."


	32. Chapter 32

_Jade's POV_

"Dad look!" Sophie exclaims as she lets go of Beck's hand and takes off running "The leopard!"

"Has she never seen a leopard before?" Ruby chuckles

Today, on the last full day of our New York weekend, we decided to take the kids to Central Park Zoo. Trevor pushes Jonah and Olivia in a double stroller, Ruby carries Aaron in a baby Bjorn. I wear a baby Bjorn as well, carrying Violet.

"She sees them whenever we go to the Los Angeles Zoo." I shrug "I don't know why she's so excited."

"The ones at home are _orange_, Mom!" Sophie rolls her eyes "This one is white!"

"Yup, this one is a snow leopard." Beck points to the sign on the glass "They have white fur instead of orange."

"Woah." Sophie gasps, nose pressed to the glass

"Pretty cool, huh?" Trevor chuckles, appearing next to us.

"Yeah." Sophie smiles "Dad can I get one?"

"Sure." Beck shrugs

"What!?" I exclaim, shooting Beck a look

"A stuffed one." He quickly corrects himself

That's a little better.

"Holy shit!" A voice behind us exclaims "It's you guys!"

I turn around to see a group of three teenage girls staring at us in awe.

"Language please." Ruby says quickly "I don't want my kid's first word to be an explicative."

"Sorry." One of them blushes, I'm assuming the one who recognized us originally "Can we take a picture with you?"

"Sure." Ruby smiles "Just me or everybody?"

"Oh my god!" Another girl exclaims "All of you? If we can, please!"

"Sure." I laugh "We don't mind. As long as you don't care Violet is asleep."

"That's fine." The girl says nervously

I didn't realize we could make fans _this_ nervous.

Trevor turns the stroller around so Jonah and Olivia can be seen in the picture, and the girls scatter themselves between us. One of them hands her phone to a zoo worker who had been nearby and he snaps a picture.

"Put that up on twitter and tag me in it, kay?" Ruby smiles

"Sure." The girls exclaim and scatter away

"Why do you always say that?" I ask

"I have an entire album of pictures with fans on my phone." She tells me "I like adding to my collection."

"She does." Trevor agrees

"Excuse me?" A man nearby with two young girls, presumably his daughters, tries to grab our attention "Can they have a picture too?"

"Sure." Beck tells him

"Us too?" A teenage couple asks

"Why not." I shrug

Before we know it, crowds have started to gather and a line has formed. Everybody trying to get a picture with 'Entertainment's First Family' as one boy referred to us. Which I personally think is a little too _weird_ for my liking, but someone said it so I'm sure it will be trending within the hour.

"Mom." Sophie whines and leans against me "How many more pictures do_ I _have to take? I wanna go get my snow leopard!"

"I'm sorry baby, only a few more." I assure her

I often forget how much of an affect our fame has on her too.

"Hey." A security guard says, appearing behind us "You guys okay? Need anything? Want some of my guys to stand nearby?"

"Actually..." Beck hesitates for a second "Can you help us get out of here? Jade and Ruby have somewhere they need to be later on..."

"Sure." He nods "OKAY EVERYBODY THATS IT! NO MORE PICTURES! IM SORRY!"

The room is full of sighs of disappointment from parents and 'awwww's from little kids.

"SORRY EVERYBODY!" Ruby yells above the crowd "ITS GETTING CLOSE TO DINNER TIME AND AFTER DINNER COMES BEDTIME FOR THE KIDS!"

The security guard leads us through a 'staff only' door so we can get around the crowds easier and not cause a scene getting out.

"Excuse me, sir?" Beck speaks up

"Yes Mr. Oliver?"

"Call me Beck, please. Mr. Oliver is my father." Beck blushes "And would you mind taking us out through the gift shop? I promised my little girl a stuffed snow leopard."

"Not a problem." He smiles

* * *

"IM FLYING HIGH! DEFYING GRAVITY! AND SOON ILL MATCH THEM IN RENOWN! Ruby screams as she runs down the practically deserted New York street "AMD NOBODY IN ALL OF OZ! NO WIZARD THAT THERE IS OR WAS! IS EVER GONNA BRING MEEEEEEE DOWN!"

We may or may not have gone to see Wicked tonight. We also may or May have not gone to a bar afterwords. Now she may or may not be drunk.

"Jesus Christ." I mutter under my breath "RUBY! GET BACK HERE! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IF THE PAPARAZZI SHOW UP?"

"OH PLEASE!" She yells back "THE ENTIRE WORLD ALREADY KNOWS ABOUT OUR DADDY ISSUES HOW MUCH WORSE CAN IT GET?"

"A LOT WORSE ACTUALLY!" I yell as I jog to catch up to her.

I picked the _wrong_ night to wear heals. That's for sure.

"Ruby!" I pant as I catch up to her "Please. Just _shut up_!"

"What are you? My _mom_?" She laughs and stumbles to the side a bit "Woah I almost fell over!"

"Well you know..." I chuckle, putting my arm around her to keep her upright "I have a legal document from the state of California saying that I _technically_ am your legal guardian. So in a way I'm still like your mom."

"Not my real one!" She taps the tip of my nose with her finger "Haha!"

"Whatever, Rube." I roll my eyes as we turn the corner and start approaching our hotel

"Hello, Miss Jade." The doorman tips his hat towards me "Miss Ruby."

"Hiiiii." Ruby giggles

"Hi." I smile as he opens the door for us "Thank you."

We cross the lobby and start heading towards the elevators. Thank god it's almost two in the morning and there's no paparazzi crowding the hotel like usual.

I lean forward to hit the 'up' button, and Ruby almost falls over when I let go of her just a little.

"Woaaaaah." She sways

"You're officially grounded from girl's night for a very long time." I sigh as the doors open

"That's no fair!" She pouts

"You're right it's not. You're grounded from alcohol though."

She's already moved on and is staring at the mirror on the ceiling of the elevator.

"It's so shiny! Jade! Look! _Shiny_!"

"Uh huh..."

The doors open on the 24th floor and I pull her out into the hall and start making my way to her and Trevor's room. When we arrive, I begin pounding my fist against the door, not even caring about waking the babies at this point.

"You're so pretty, Jade." Ruby sighs, twisting one of my curls around her finger

"Thank you." I sigh, a little past annoyed at this point

"What the hell!" Trevor exclaims when he opens the door "Jade!? You're gonna wake the kids up!"

"Take your wife!" I shove her towards him

"Hiii honey!" She slurs and falls into his arms

"Holy- is she drunk?" He asks

"Oh _yes_." I laugh and turn on my heel, walking towards my room.

Apparently I leave just in time too, because as I slide my card into the door, I hear Ruby throw up down the hall.

_Poor Trevor._


	33. Chapter 33

**A lil on the short side, I'm sorry. **

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"Aunt Ruby!" Sophie exclaims "Do you wanna watch Frozen on Daddy's PearPad with me?"

"Sophie." I groan "Please. I just want to sleep."

"Okay." Sophie frowns and walks back to her seat

"Come on, Rube." Trevor sighs "She just wants to watch a movie."

"I have a headache!" I tell him "Please just leave me alone!"

"Alright whatever, superstar."

I put my sleep mask back on and put my headphones back in, leaning my head against the pillow I have propped up against the window of the plane.

I don't think I've been this hungover since the morning after my 21st birthday. It's terrible and it sucks. I sort of hate Jade for letting me drink so much, but according to her, she tried to stop me several times, but I kept fighting back. Eventually I gave in and let her take me back to the hotel. Where I threw up all over my husband.

For some reason everyone seems sympathetic to me though. Jade, even though I was a pain in the ass the entire way from the bar to the hotel. Trevor, even though I threw up all over him and he had to help me change my clothes. Beck, even though he was no part of it and was sleeping the entire time.

I can't help but think that subconsciously I was trying to drink away the stress of the whole situation that I've fallen into the past few months. It was never my intent, I only wanted to go out and have a good time with my sister, but maybe that's what it turned into.

That was only the second time I've been drunk in my life. I promised myself I wouldn't turn into my father, drunk all the time, taking my own problems out on my kids because I'm too far under the influence to see what I'm doing to them. I never want my kids to see me the way I saw my father.

I feel so ashamed.

I start to wonder what my mother would think, if she'd be ashamed or if she'd tell me that I was just having fun and that it happens. I honestly don't know what she would think, which just reminds me exactly how little I actually know about my mother, and how long she's been gone.

I brush a tear from my eye and turn the volume up on my PearPod.

_I drive your truck_

_I roll every window down_

_And I burn up_

_Every back road in this town_

_I find a field, I tear it up_

_Til all the pain's a cloud of dust_

_Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck_

_I've cussed, I've prayed, I've said goodbye_

_Shook my fist and asked God why_

_These days when I'm missing you this much_

_I drive your truck_

_I roll every window down_

_And I burn up_

_Every back road in this town_

_I find a field, I tear it up_

_Til all the pain's a cloud of dust_

_Yeah, sometimes, brother sometimes_

_I drive your truck_

_I drive your truck_

_I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind_

_I drive your truck_

"RUBY!" Someone yells to me "RUBY!"

I jolt upright in my seat and tear my mask off

"What?!" I exclaim, pulling my headphones out of my ears

Trevor sits in the seat across the isle from me, bouncing Olivia on his lap.

"Come on baby girl, say it again!" He coos "Say it for Mommy! I know you can!"

"What did she say?" I ask

"Just wait for it..." He smiles "Come on, Livy! Mmmmma-ma!"

"Mama!" The baby giggles and claps her hands together

"You have to give my twenty bucks back." I grin, standing up to take my daughter from him "Say it again, Livy. Who am I? Mmmmma-ma!"

"Mama!" She laughs and snuggles her head into my chest

"Yeah." I grin "Yeah I'm Momma."


	34. Chapter 34

Ruby's POV

"Aaron, buddy. Come on you're the last one!" I coo to my son as we sit on the floor in the living room, playing with toys "You can do it! Come on, we can't let Daddy win can we? Mmmma-mmmma!"

Trevor had a few meetings to attend today, leaving me home with the babies by myself.

"Mama!" Olivia exclaims and crawls up next to me, putting her head in my lap

"That's my name!" I smile "Wanna teach your brother how to say it?"

The doorbell rings, so I stand up to answer it.

"We'll work on it bud." I wink and move towards the door.

When I open the door, Jade is standing there, holding Violet's car seat in one hand, a cardboard box tucked under her other arm.

"Hey." I greet her "Wasn't expecting you guys today."

"Sorry." She apologizes "I just...I found...can we come in?"

"Sure."

I move to the side and let her enter the house.

"Is everything okay?" I ask as she sets the car seat and box down and shrugs off her coat "Where's Sophie?"

"It's Tuesday. Sophie is at school." She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world "And everything's fine, I just...this box. I want to show you what's in it."

"What is it?" I ask picking it up made examining it she she lifts Violet out of her seat "It looks old."

"Well it's old, but not that old." Jade laughs "Do you have a VCR?"

"In the basement..." I shrug as we start walking toward the living room "We never use it though, I don't even know if it even works. If you're willing to wait until they go down for a nap we can check it out? It'll actually only be another twenty minutes or so..."

"Jade!" Aaron exclaims as we enter the room

"Hey lil man." She smiles "Wait...I didn't know he could talk..."

"I didn't know he could either..." I smile and bend down to pick him up "Really, Aaron Trevor? I've been trying for days to get you to say 'Mommy' or something of the sort, and you say 'Jade'?"

"Told you he loves me." Jade smirks and sits down on the couch "However, I was honestly expecting the first 'Jade' to come from Olivia."

"Why?"

"Uh hello?" She laughs "She's named after me?"

"Whatever." I roll my eyes "Come on goobers, it's nap time."

* * *

"So where did you find this?" I ask as I pull the old VHS tape out of it's box

It has 'Ruby &amp; Jade: 03-17-08' written on the side in a familiar slanted handwriting.

"When we left Dad's..." She sighs "Actually, when Mom died, I grabbed it out of the basement, I had no clue what was even in it, but I figured it would be something material of theirs for us to have with us...you know besides the locket..."

Mom had a favorite locket she always wore, with pictures of me and Jade in it, and eventually Caleb. When she died, Jade made sure to find it. We always argued over who would get to keep it, eventually we just broke it in half, she kept one half, and I put the other on another chain and kept it for myself. I used to wear it everyday, so did Jade. But I rarely wear mine now, out of fear of something happening to it. It holds a special spot in the center of my jewelry box though, next to my engagement and wedding rings. So I see it everyday when I put them on.

"Anyway..." She continues "When we left Dad's, I made sure we brought it with us. It came from house to house with us...I promised myself I wouldn't open it until I was 21...but I forgot I had it until I was cleaning this morning, and when I opened it, I found out it wasn't anything that was really hers, it was us."

"How many are there?" I ask as I grab the VCR remote and sit down on the couch next to her

"Six or seven I think." She shifts on the couch uncomfortably "Jeez what even is this couch?"

"It's one of Derek and Serena's from their first apartment..." I tell her "It's the 'crap couch', this was intended to be a play space for the kids, but when you have baby triplets, toys just end up where they end up. Can we watch this now, please?"

"Yeah, hit play." She tells me "I have no idea what this is! I haven't looked at them."

I hit the play button on the remote and the video appears on the screen. If the date on the tape is correct, I'm nine, and Jade is twelve. We're in out living room at Mom and John's house. I wear a bright pink tutu and leotard and plastic sunglasses. Jade wears a normal outfit, but has a yellow feather boa wrapped around her neck.

"_Ruby!" Little Jade groans "Stop goofing around or I'm not doing this!"_

_"But I'm so excited!" I smile and run up next to her_

_"What are you guys up to?" John asks from behind the camera_

_"We're gonna have a concert!" I grin and bounce up and down_

_"Except she won't stop moving!" Jade rolls her eyes_

_"Come on Jade," the camera pans over to my mother "Be nice to your sister."_

"Oh my gosh." I gasp

"Mom..." Jade sighs

_"Whatever." Little Jade rolls her eyes_

_"Before we get this concert started..." John laughs "Tell everybody how old you are!"_

_"Nine and a half!" I smile "I'm almost ten!"_

_"I'll be thirteen next month." Jade tells him "I'm in seventh grade."_

_"Ruby what's gonna happen a few months after your birthday?" John asks_

_"Mom is gonna have a baby!" I jump up and down_

"Spastic much?" Jade laughs

"Shhh!" I shush her

_"Do you girls think the baby is a boy or a girl?" Mom asks us_

_"A boy." Jade smirks "Or at least I hope so, I already have a sister, I need a brother now."_

_"I want another sister!" I smile "Then I'll have a little sister AND a big sister!"_

_"Can we please just do this already?" Jade whines "There's a new episode of the Naked Brothers Band on in an hour and I want to watch it."_

"Wow, Jade." I smirk

"Shut up." She throws pillow at me "We're reliving old memories, not mocking my poor taste in children's shows."

_"Okay we'll hurry up so Jade can watch her show." John laughs "Whatcha guys gonna sing?"_

_"You'll see." I smile and press a button on my Hello Kitty boom box_

_The younger versions of Jade and I exchange a glance with each other and start singing_

_"To the left, to the left_

_Everything you own in the box to the left_

_In the closet that's my stuff, yes_

_If I bought it please don't touch_

_And keep talking that mess, that's fine_

_But could you walk and talk at the same time?_

_And it's my name that's on that Jag_

_So go move your bags_

_Let me call you a cab_

_Standing in the front yard telling me_

_How I'm such a fool, talking about_

_How I'll never ever find a man like you_

_You got me to say:_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_I could have another you in a minute_

_Matter fact he'll be here in a minute, baby_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_I can have another you by tomorrow_

_So don't you ever for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable_

_So go ahead and get gone_

_And call up that chick and see if she's home_

_Oops, I bet ya thought that I didn't know_

_What did you think I was putting you out for?_

_Because you was untrue_

_Rolling her around in the car that I bought you_

_Baby drop them keys_

_Hurry up before your taxi leaves_

_Standing in the front yard telling me_

_How I'm such a fool, talking about_

_How I'll never ever find a man like you_

_You got me to say:_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_I could have another you in a minute_

_Matter fact he'll be here in a minute, baby_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_You must not know 'bout me_

_I'll have another you by tomorrow_

_So don't you ever for a second get to thinking_

_you're irreplaceable_

_So since I'm not your everything_

_How about I'll be nothing, nothing at all to you_

_Baby I won't shed a tear for you, I won't lose a wink of sleep_

_'Cause the truth of the matter is replacing you is so easy..."_

The baby monitor on my hip starts making noise

"I just put them down!" I groan and get up

"Wait this one isn't over yet!" Jade exclaims

"Keep watching!" I tell her "I'll be right back!"


	35. Chapter 35

_Ruby's POV_

"Come on," Trevor smiles "Would it really be so bad?"

He wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on hits chest as we lay in bed talking.

Well, he's talking. I'm trying to sleep.

"We're not having another baby." I tell him "At least not right now."

"Why not?" He sighs

"Because we already have _three_ sleeping down the hall!" I laugh "And I don't want to have three kids hitting their terrible twos all at once while trying to take care of a _newborn_."

"You wouldn't be doing it alone." He reminds me

"Yes I know." I pick his hand up and press my lips to his knuckles, kissing them "I know I wouldn't be. But we have careers to think about too, you know."

"But you said you wanted to hold off on the third album for a while!"

"Just until the end of the year." I correct him "Not forever."

With as hectic as the past two to three years of my life have been, I wanted to take some time off before I released my third album. One is certainly in the works, but with an album comes a tour, and promotional stuff, and I wanted to be around for my kid's major milestones they'll be hitting soon. They'll always come first.

"Alright well if we were to have another kid, what would you want? A boy or a girl?" He asks "Just hypothetically speaking?"

"Trevor..."

"Come on babe, just answer the question!" He whines

"A girl." I sigh "To even it out. Two boys and two girls."

"I agree with you one hundred percent." He kisses the top of my head "What would you want to name her?"

"I don't want to get you all excited..." I tell him "If I humor you, you'll just want it more."

"If we get to have this conversation I promise I will stop the baby talk for the next six months." He says

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"I don't know." I admit "But I'd want her middle name to be Margret. And for a boy I like Aiden Marcus"

"Margret after your Mom?"

"Yeah..." I tell him "What about you?"

"McKenna Vivian for a girl." He tells me "And Joshua Taylor for a boy."

"I like Joshua Taylor." I smirk "Good job babe."

"Like it enough to try for one?"

"Nope." I laugh "I'm going to keep taking my birth control."

"Damn it was worth a shot." He laughs

We lay in silence for a while, the only sound is the echo of our breathing.

"Trevor?" I whisper

"Hm?"

"I've been having nightmares again."

"I know." He sighs "They wake me up sometimes."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" He assures me "I'm sorry I can't help them stop."

"I knew they'd come back when we released the story...I just can't seem to shake_ his _face out of my head."

"How can I help?" He asks "How can I make it not so bad?"

"Just hold me." I whisper "Hold me tight and never let go."

"I promise I never will." He assures me "Okay?"

"Okay." I nod "Hey babe, one more thing?"

"Anything."

"Wanna sing me to sleep?" I smile

The sound of his voice always gives me a reassuring sense of safety. Whether it be when he's on stage with me, or singing to the kids, or even singing to me.

"Sure. What do you want me to sing?"

"Anything."

"_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

_'Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't wanna go home right now_

_And all I can taste is this moment_

_And all I can breathe is your life_

_When sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't wanna miss you tonight_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming_

_Or the moment of truth in your lies_

_When everything feels like the movies_

_Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am.._."


	36. Chapter 36

Twitter update from **RubyKaitlyn**:

_ I think it's about time for another Q&amp;A livestream:) What about you guys? I'll go live at 8:00 tonight! And maybe I'll even invite a special guest? Who knows? #Q&amp;AwithRuby_

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"Hello world" I smile "It's been a few months since I've done one of these. I know boo me. But with the tour and then coming forward with the information I did last month...life has been kinda hectic. But! I'm here now and that's what matters, right? Sooo tweet me using #Q&amp;AwithRuby and let's get started shall we? Oh! And I have a special guest with me! Any guesses?"

I check the feed on the right side of my screen for responses.

_Jade?_

_Trevor!_

_Jade._

_Jade!?_

_Jade? Please be Jade!_

_Aaron, Jonah &amp; Olivia?_

_Sophie!_

_OMG I HOPE ITS YOUR HUSBAND!_

_Is it your sister...?_

"Okay a few of you got it right..." I chuckle "My special guest is..."

"ITS ME!" Trevor says in an Italian accent, appearing in the doorway behind me "Hello Twitterverse!"

"He's a little excited." I whisper as he walks in and sits down next to me

"I love these!" He exclaims "Let's answer questions!"

"Alright." I laugh "You wanna pick one?"

"Yes! Uhhhhhhh..." He scans the feed for questions "Oh that one!"

_What was the last song you listened to?_

"Uhhhh, I was listening to the babies's children's CD on the way home from Jade and Beck's this afternoon..." I think out loud "So unfortunately I think it was Old McDonald..."

"Ruby was singing Cowboy Casanova when she was making dinner." Trevor smiles as he puts an arm around me "It was beautiful."

"Okay you sap." I roll my eyes "Let's see...another question..."

_When are you going on tour again? I saw you in Miami last year and can't wait for you to come back!_

"Aw thank you!" I smile "I'm glad you had fun! But I'm not going on tour again until next year sometime. You know, after the next album. The kids will be a little older then, things will hopefully be easier on us."

"Babe." Trevor grins "Look at that one."

_Will you guys have another baby?_

"Oh lord." I sigh "I don't know yet. Maybe? I don't know. I currently have three babies under one year old. So if we do it probably won't be for a while...Trevor really wants to have one more."

He nods excitedly.

"Except he doe at gave to carry it for nine months and then push it out."

"Hey! If I could, I would!" He offers "And I love you so much for carrying our children and putting your body through that!"

"Mhm."

"I do!" He kisses my cheek, repeatedly "I do! I do! I do!"

_How often do you guys have sex?_

"That's none of your business!" I scoff

"Often enough." Trevor winks

"Trevor!" I shriek and slap his arm "Stop!"

"I'm kidding!" He defends "I would not disclose information like that!"

I give him a look that says 'oh sure'.

"I wouldn't!"

"Yeah okay." I roll my eyes "Let's answer another one..."

_Will you guys sing for us? You both have such beautiful voices!_

"You guys always ask for me to sing." I laugh

"Maybe because your a singer, Rube." Trevor laughs

"Really? I didn't know that!" I gasp "What do you guys want us to sing?"

"What about the song we sang in the showcase senior year?" Trevor suggests "That was a good one."

"I don't know if they'll know it..." I hesitate

"No it's a good song!" He insists "I'll go get my guitar!"

He hops up and jogs out of the room.

"Okay while he does that..." I read through the questions

_Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if your Mom hadn't died?_

I hesitate before answering.

"Truthfully? All the time." I admit "Everything would be different, ya know? Like...if...he hadn't tried to...violate my sister, maybe she wouldn't have felt so vulnerable and sought comfort from Beck. And then maybe Sophie wouldn't have been born when she was...DONT GET ME WRONG! I love my niece! To death! My life would be so different if she hadn't been born when she was. Trevor might not have approached me at Jade and Beck's graduation, and then would we even be together now? We still would've gone to school together...but would we have even talked? I wouldn't have my kids...maybe not even my career! It's scary to think about. But yeah, I do think about it."

_What if Jade hadn't gotten you out? What if you had stayed with your Dad?_

"I don't want to think about that." I sigh "It more than likely would not have ended well for anybody involved. I honestly would have probably ended up on the streets begging for money to buy drugs or something of like that. I don't want to think about it. Let's not talk about it anymore, please."

"I'm back!" Trevor announces "Shall we sing?"

"Are we doing the senior showcase one?" I ask

"Please!" He begs

"Okay." I shrug as he starts to play

*(Ruby is _italics_ and Trevor is **bold** and then when they sing_** together it'll be both**_)*

"**I don't know you**

_But I want you_

_**All the more for that**_

**Words fall through me**

_And always fool me_

**_And I can't react_**

**And games that never amount**

_To more than they're meant_

_**Will play themselves out**_

_**Take this sinking boat and point it home**_

_**We've still got time**_

_**Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice**_

_**You'll make it now**_

_Falling slowly, _

**Eyes that know me...**

_**And I can't go back**_

_Moods that take_ _me_

**And erase me**

**_And I'm painted black_**

**You have suffered enough**

_And warred with yourself_

_**It's time that you won**_

**_Take this sinking boat and point it home_**

**_We've still got time_**

**_Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice_**

**_You've made it now_**

**_Falling slowly sing your melody_**

**_I'll sing along_**

**Oh I'll sing along!**

_Along..._

_**Take this sinking boat and point it home**_

_We've still got timeeeee_"

"I love yoooou." He grins

"I love you too." I kiss him


	37. Chapter 37

_Jade's POV_

I awake from the deep sleep I had fallen into rather abruptly. At first, I'm not sure what woke me, until I turn my head and see that the baby monitor is lighting up and making noise. Violet is awake.

I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. The sheets on Beck's side of the bed have been thrown off, and he's nowhere to be seen. That's odd. He's never up before me.

I pull on a hoodie as I wander out into the hallway and towards Violet's nursery.

"Mommy's here baby!" I coo as I enter the room "Good morning sweetheart!"

She smiles when she sees me, which makes me smile too. I pick her up and cuddle her close for a few seconds before putting her down on the changing table to change her diaper.

"Did you sleep well, baby girl?" I ask her "You must have! Mommy and Daddy didn't have to come get you once last night!"

Violet, now five months old, has just started sleeping through the night and I consider it a blessing.

I'm getting old you know, the more sleep I get, the better.

"What are we gonna wear today?" I sigh as I lift her up and rest her on my hip and walk towards her closet "Let's see...god do you have a lot of purple clothes..."

I guess we can blame Aunt Ruby for that fact.

I settle on white t-shirt with light green and light purple polka dots and matching light purple leggings.

"You know..." I tell the baby as I dress her "Your sister's nursery used to be these colors when she was a baby. Daddy and Uncle Andre spent hours trying to find the right color purple to paint the walls, Mommy and Aunt Ruby walked right in and found it in five minutes."

Violet looks around and kicks her legs, paying no attention to what I'm saying, as usual.

"You wanna wear a headband today?" I ask her "Or do you th-"

There's a loud crashing noise from downstairs. It sounded like someone dropped a box of pots and pans onto the floor in the kitchen. But like they had dropped it from fifteen feet...

"That didn't sound good..." I sigh "Come on, let's go check it out."

I pick up my daughter and carry her with me downstairs, in the direction of the kitchen.

"Sophie Marie." I call "That had better not have been you...!"

I turn the corner into the kitchen and almost scream. There's flour and crushed eggshells everywhere. Batter of some kind is splattered all over the walls and floor, and lots and pans are strewn all over. But right in the middle of it all? Beck and Sophie.

"What the..." I almost say 'fuck', but my children are in the room "What are you two doing!?"

"Don't freak out!" Beck exclaims "It's an easy cleanup!"

"We were just trying to make you breakfast!" Sophie exclaims "Happy Birthday?"

* * *

"Everywhere?" Ruby laughs as I explain the situation to her at dinner later that night

"Everywhere." I sigh "Ceiling, floor, wall, the kid, you name it."

"I'm not the best cook." Beck chuckles

"I know!" Ruby and I say in unison, causing us both to laugh

"Trevor..." Ruby sighs "Take the silverware from Aaron please!"

"It's just a spoon." Trevor assures her as he takes the utensils away from the baby next to him "It's actually kinda cute."

"Yeah it's cute until it's a knife." She reminds him

Olivia, Jonah, and Aaron sit in high chairs (in that order) between Ruby and Trevor, Beck sits next to Trevor, Sophie next to him, then Violet in her high chair, then me, and then we're back to Ruby.

"Mom look!" Sophie exclaims, holding up her Maestro's kid's menu that she's colored in

"Very nice, sweetheart." I smile and take a sip of my wine "Remind me again why we brought five kids to one of the nicest restaurants in Los Angeles?"

"Because it's your birthday." Ruby nudges me "And you're golden birthday at that!"

"We didn't do anything special for your golden birthday." I remind her

"I was also six." She reminds me "Oh! You have to open your present!"

"You didn't have to get me anything." I sigh as she reaches into her purse and pulls out a medium-sized, wrapped box.

"You and I both know that's a lie." She laughs and hands the box to me "Go on. Open it!"

"Now?"

"Yes now!" Trevor insists

I hadn't even noticed he was paying attention to the conversation.

"Okay." I chuckle and start tearing at the paper

In the box is a dark purple Nikon CoolPix camera.

"Holy crap." I smile, turning the camera over in my hands "Thanks guys it's great!"

"Cool. You can use it in the Bahamas." Beck tells me

"What?"

"Happy Birthday." He grins "We leave the day after tomorrow."

"Are you serious?" I ask him

"He sure is." Trevor chuckles "And we're coming with you."

"Really?" I gasp

"Yeah." Ruby smiles "Trevor, Me, You, Beck and all the kids. Happy birthday, sis."

"Oh my god!" I exclaim "Thank you!"


	38. Chapter 38

_Ruby's POV_

"_Wow_." I gasp as we step through the door into our hotel suite in the Bahamas "This is amazing."

"Yeah." Trevor agrees, stepping in behind me "Yeah it really is."

I bend down to take Olivia out of her car seat. Once the babies out grow them I have no idea how we'll transport them, because the stroller is so hard to transport certain places and they probably won't want to walk.

"Check out this view!" I exclaim , running out onto the balcony, taking the baby with me "I can see the ocean!"

"It's beautiful." Trevor smiles, appearing next to me "Just like you."

"Awwww." I blush and kiss him "You're not so bad yourself."

There's a knock at the door, he goes to answer it while I move inside to start unpacking. I set Olivia down and she crawls over to play with her brothers.

"Uncle T!" Sophie exclaims as she runs into our room "You _are_ the room across the hall!"

"Yeah we kinda planned it that way." He chuckles "Have you seen your room yet?"

"Yeah! And it's awesome!" She giggles "Can we go to the pool?"

"I don't know." Trevor shrugs "Ask your Dad."

"He said to come ask _you_..."

"Of course he did..." Trevor sighs "In a little bit okay?"

"Okay!" She smiles and skips out of the room

"That kid..." Trevor grins and closes the door behind her "Never a dull moment."

"Never." I agree, opening one of the pac-n-plays and start setting it up

"Here, let me get that." Trevor offers taking it from me

"You sure?"

"Positive." He smiles and gives me a peck on the lips

"Hey!" One of the babies squeals

I turn around to see Aaron holding Olivia's favorite stuffed bunny, Olivia stunned like she's about to cry, and Jonah confused sitting in the middle.

"Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!" I whisper under my breath

Sure enough, Olivia breaks out into tears, screaming red-faced at the top of her lungs.

"Aaron Trevor!" I scold as I walk over to them "That's Livy's bunny! You have your lion."

I pick Olivia up and she buries her face in my neck, continuing to cry.

"Sweetie it's okay." I coo as I bend down and take the stuffed animal from her brother "Your bunny is right here."

"Little tornados, those three." Trevor chuckles as he watches from afar "Causing trouble wherever they go."

"I know." I sigh and kiss the top of my daughter's head "But they're my tornados."

"_Our_ tornados." He corrects me

"Yeah." I smile "Our tornados."

* * *

"How do you do that?" Jade groans as I walk out of the bathroom in my new bikini

Trevor and Beck had taken most of the kids down to the pool already, only Jonah remains upstairs with us.

"Do what?" I ask

"That!" She exclaims, I'm still unsure of what she's gesturing to "You had triplets and you look better than you did before you had them! I had one and I still haven't lost all the weight!"

"Oh you look fine." I assure her as I slip on my flip flops.

I really love my new bikini, I bought it especially for the trip. It's a light blue strapless top with a pink botanical print and light blue bottoms. I got to buy swim suits for babies too which got me way more excited than it should have. Aaron got light green, grey, dark grey and white striped swim trunks with a matching white and grey rash guard. Jonah got grey swim trunks with white shark outlines and a teal rash guard. I had the most fun with my baby girl Olivia's though, she got a light blue one piece with a little ruffle along the neckline and is covered in little pink flamingos. They each got a hooded towel too. Aaron a crab in a pirate hat, Jonah a shark, and Olivia a pink flamingo. I could not wait for them to try them on as soon as I got back from the store. Trevor thought I was insane.

"I still don't think it's fair." She pouts, picking Jonah up and pulling him into her lap.

"I've had more recovery time than you." I remind her "They're 10 months, Violet is 5. I also went on a world your between then and now."

"Oh yeah that's right you did do that." She laughs "I forgot."

"Yeah yeah." I stick my tongue out at her, she returns the gesture

And so does my son.

"Jonah Thomas!" I laugh, which causes him to stick his tongue out again

"Your father will love that." Jade tells the baby as he falls into a fit of laughter

"No way he picked it up that quickly." I shake my head "Someone must've been showing him before."

"Probably my husband." Jade rolls her eyes

"Or..."

"_Sophie_." We both say in unison.


	39. Chapter 39

**_I will spare everyone the details but let's just say I have a concussion. My updates are going to slow down a little bit in the next week because i can't stare at my computer screen for very long without getting a headache, so writing new chapters is hard. Sorry! I'll try my best to update when I can. Sorry if this update isn't great, but I'm still not feeling too hot. _**

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

I sit on the balcony of our hotel room, reading my book and watching the sunset.

I've had a pretty relaxing day, which is a nice change of pace for me actually. Jade and I went to the spa this morning while Beck and Trevor watched the kids. Then we spent the day at the beach, we had planned on staying longer than we had, but some wonderful paparazzi showed up, so we returned to our rooms and ended up going for an early dinner. After dinner, Jade and I took our kids back to our rooms, while Beck and Trevor headed off to play golf. They should be back soon.

I can't remember the last time I was able so sit someplace completely quiet and relaxing and just read. The only sound around me is the occasional tropical breeze that blows through the palm trees, and the far off laughter of people enjoying the resort water park.

"Hey." Trevor greets me, stepping through the sliding glass door from the room.

Annnnd the silence is gone.

"Hey." I smile as he gives me a quick peck on the lips

"Where are the kids?" He asks me, sitting down in the chair across from me on the balcony

"Did you miss the three sleeping infants in the pac-n-plays on your way out here?" I chuckle

"Wow." He grins "They're asleep early tonight. That almost _never_ happens."

"Mommy needed some time to herself." I chuckle "It's amazing what you can make happen if you're motivated enough."

"Well you're amazing." He shrugs "You can do anything!"

"What do you want?" I laugh

"Nothing." He shrugs "Just thought you'd like a reminder of how amazing you are."

"Mhm..." I smirk and continue reading my book

"So are you having a good time?" He asks anxiously

"Yes." I laugh "Why?"

"Just wondering." He says "I just wanna make sure you're as happy as possible."

"I'm not ready to have another baby, Trevor." I chuckle

"That's not what I was implying!" He exclaims "I promised you no baby talk for six months, and there will be no baby talk for six months!"

I glance up at him with a face that says 'alright, sure.'.

"There won't!"

"Okay I believe you." I smile and continue reading

"So you like the resort?" He asks

"I think it's amazing." I tell him

"Would you want to come back? Maybe sometime _without_ the kids?"

"I think that'd be nice."

"I love you." He blurts out "I really seriously _love_ you."

"I love you too." I laugh "Trevor Samuels, what has gotten into you? You've been acting weird all day."

"I just...I had a weird nightmare last night okay?" He sighs "It's nothing."

"Obviously it's not nothing if you're this affected by it." I set my book down next to me "You want to talk about it? That usually helps."

This is an odd change of pace, _he's_ usually the one to offer therapy after one of _my_ nightmares.

"I woke up one morning, and you were gone." He tells me "I went to check on the kids, and they were gone too. I freaked out and tried calling you, but you kept sending me to voicemail...you left me."

"Trevor, babe." I sigh, getting up and going over to sit on his lap "It was just a nightmare. I'm not going anywhere. _I love you_."

"Promise?"

"_Promise_." I whisper and begin kissing him softly.

"Good...because I...don't...know...if I can...survive...with...out you." He tells me between kisses

I stop and cup his face in my hands.

"You'll _never _have to." I assure him

"Good." He bites his lip and starts to kiss my neck

I shift myself so I'm straddling his lap and he stands up as I take my turn kissing him. He starts walking towards the door and opens it, stepping through.

I take a break and rest my head on his shoulder as we walk through the living room, so we don't wake the the babies sleeping in there. But once he kicks the bedroom door closed behind him, we're on again.

He throws me down on the bed and crawls on top of me.

"You got to be on top last time..." I pout

"Do you actually care that much?" He chuckles as he pulls his shirt off

"Nah." I smirk "I actually like it better when you're on top."

"Me too." He smiles as I undo the buckle on his belt

"These damn gold clothes." I laugh "Damn do you look_ hot_ in them, but they're so hard to get unfastened."

"Shhhh." He presses a finger to my lips "I've got it from here, just relax okay?"

"Kay." I bite my lip

I'm in for a fantastic night, that's for sure.


	40. Chapter 40

_Ruby's POV_

On our last night at the resort, we decide to spend sometime at the beach, just relaxing. Beck sits in a beach chair, looking over what I can only presume is a new script, mindful of Violet who is asleep in her stroller next to him. Trevor is laying on his back on a beach blanket, listening to music through his headphones, Aaron curled up next to him on his side. Jonah, who has been cranky all evening, is sleeping in his stroller next to them. Meanwhile, Jade accompanies Sophie as she splashes around in the water close to the shoreline. It's cute to watch, they run around and laugh, occasionally Jade will take a picture of Sophie on her new camera, or pick her up and spin her in circles, sending her into a never ending giggle fit.

Me? I sit straddled on the sand, close to the water, just barely close enough that when the tide reaches me it only passes me by about two inches or so. I hold Olivia upright between my legs, lifting her up when a wave reaches us, so it's like she's jumping over them. She laughs hysterically every time, and I realize that my daughter's laugh is one of the most precious sounds in the universe.

"Hey you guys!" Jade smiles, approaching us "Smile!"

I turn and hold Livy so our faces are close and she snaps the picture.

"Tonight on TMZ..." She says in a comical voice as she sits down next to me, handing me a beer from our beach cooler "Mother and daughter enjoy one last relaxing night on a beach in the Bahamas..."

"Ha. Ha." I sneer, pulling my legs together and sitting Livy on my lap "What happened to Soph?"

The baby extends her arms to my sister, so Jade pulls her onto her lap.

"She got tired," Jade shrugs "Beck is gonna take her and Violet back to the room and give them their baths."

"I should probably ask Trevor to do the same..." I sigh

"Way ahead of you." He says, coming up behind me

"Thank you." I smile as he leans down and kisses me

"C'mere baby girl." Trevor extends his arms to her

"No!" Olivia protests and snuggles closer to Jade

"I'll bring her up with me..." I tell him "Just take the boys up."

"Sure." He nods "How long do you think you're gonna be?"

"No more than an hour." I shrug

"Alright." He agrees and leans down to kiss me again "See you then."

"See you then." I repeat "God I can't believe we have to leave this place..."

"I know..." Jade frowns "This really was a great birthday present, thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank your husband." I tell her "It was all him."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah..." I sigh

We sit in the tide for a while, the only sounds around us are that of the waves rushing in and out, seagulls far in the distance, and the faint sound of music coming from the resort pool a few yards down the beach and behind us.

"It was kinda nice..." I break the silence "Being around just each other, no paparazzi, no annoying reporters, not that many crazy fan attacks..."

"I think it was just the get away we needed." She agrees "Given the circumstances of the past few months..."

"That's why he did it." I tell her, taking a sip of my beer "So we could...get away from it all."

"But now we have to return to reality." She sighs and takes a sip of her own "That sucks."

"You can say that again."

Livy begins to squirm, so Jade hands her back to me. When that doesn't appear to be what she wanted, I sit her in the sand between us. The water rushes up and around her, causing her to squeal and kick her legs, content again.

"The simplest things entertain her." I smile

"Babies can be like that." Jade laughs as my diagnosed begins to hit at my legs

I extend a hand to her and she starts playing with it. Amazed by my queen of hearts tattoo on the inside of my middle finger.

"That's Mommy's tattoo." I tell her "I colored on myself. Don't ever do it, okay?"

"I predict she has one by sixteen." Jade smirks

"No!" I gasp "I'd never let her."

"Well look who's talking now!"

"Whatever." I roll my eyes as Olivia finds my puzzle piece tattoo "Yup there's another one."'

She giggles and sits back down on the sand, her hand brushing the scar from my stab wound on my lower left abdomen. She stops to examine the faded purple blemish.

"That's not a tattoo, sweetie..." I sigh

"Shit." Jade mutters

"Jade..." I sighs "It's been ten years...it's okay."

"I still hate myself for that." She whispers "I shouldn't have let you go home alone".

"It's not your fault." I tell her "He would've gotten one of us either way."

"I was the older sister...I was supposed to protect you."

"Don't beat yourself up. I should be thanking you." I remind her

"No you shouldn't."

"Jade you practically-"

"Raised you." She finishes for me "I know. I know."

"I owe you."

"No you don't."

"Will you at least accept an 'I love you' then?" I smile, nudging her with my shoulder "Hm?"

"Sure." She cracks a grin "I guess that's okay."

"I love yooooou." I chuckle

"Wuv woo." Olivia smiles up at me

"Well I'll be damned." Jade smiles "Go Liv."

"I knew you'd be my little social butterfly!" I exclaim, pulling her onto my lap, laying down and lifting her in the air above me "I did."

"She did." Jade agrees, standing up "Come on, I think we've tortured our husbands long enough."


	41. Chapter 41

_Ruby's POV_

"Children..." I sigh and pull a plastic set of key rings out from under my bed

I throw them into a pile behind me, along with the rest of the toys I've found.

I'm at home by myself with the babies today, so I figured I'd attempt to get some cleaning done during nap time...however, I didn't expect to find an entire toy box worth of my children's possessions under my bed. I make a mental note to set up a baby gate at the door later tonight.

As I reach for a small stuffed elephant (that Aaron has been screaming over the lack of for a good three days at bedtime), my hand brushes what feels like a small, flat, cardboard box. I'm not sure if I really felt or not, so I swipe by the space again, and sure enough I was correct. I decide to pull it out and take a look.

When it surfaces from under the dust ruffle of the bed, I recognize it immediately, and actually debate over whether I should open it or not. In the end, I do.

The first thing I take out is a scrapbook. It contains basically Trevor's and my entire relationship from the time we met up until we graduated high school, I honestly hadn't expected it to last past then.

Obviously I was wrong.

Flipping through it feels like a trip down memory lane. The first page has my ticket to Beck and Jade's graduation glued next to a selfie I took with him that night. Below that, "May 22nd, 2013" is written in my slanted cursive handwriting. That was the day it all began. I continue turning pages, looking at old pictures, we took entirely too many selfies...a habit that unfortunately hasn't changed. When I get to the pictures of the first dance we ever went to, I can't help but laugh. It was Homecoming of our sophomore year. I wear a salmon colored a-lined dress with jeweled embellishments. He wears a matching tie.

We took so many pictures that day, I remember it being more like a photo shoot. We took pictures together, with Beck and Jade, with Sophie, who was only five months old at the time. Jade even framed one of her and I we took that day. (It sat on her desk in her office until I got married and she replaced it with one of the two of us at the reception). My absolute favorite however, was one that I took myself, it was of Trevor, standing with his hands in his pockets, half smiling, half smirking. It would be an adorable picture if Beck wasn't standing in the background, baseball bat raised above his head like he was ready to bash the boy's skull in. Although Beck and Trevor have always gotten along well, Beck still felt he needed to play my father-figure that night, and Jade wouldn't let buy a gun solely to take a funny picture.

I set the scrapbook on the nightstand so I can show my husband later and keep looking through the box. I find a photo album. It has "R.K.W. #1" written on the spine in silver sharpie. I know exactly what this is.

When I switched phones my senior year of high school, I had every picture on my camera roll printed and I put them all in this album, well part of them. There were close to three thousand pictures, so they took up a few albums. The rest are still in the box, but this is number one. The first picture is a picture of my friend Talia and me the night we graduated eighth grade. My father hadn't come to the ceremony, why would he have? But Jade did. She drug Beck and Andre along with her too. The pictures really have no meaning until you hit around number two hundred. That was around the time Jade and I ran away. I see a picture of me, a selfie, laying on what I can only guess is the couch in Beck's RV, left eye purple and swollen shut, but still smiling.

* * *

_"Did you seriously just take a selfie?" Jade scoffs, having heard the camera sound effect from my phone "Really?" _

_Beck had gone inside to grab some things for us, leaving my sister and I alone in the RV. _

_"Yup." I say, popping the p. _

_"Why?"_

_"Documenting evidence." I shrug _

_"For who?"_

_"The police?" _

_"The police aren't going to help us." She laughs "We have no proof." _

_"Uh hello." I point to my black eye "I can lead them straight to the bastard!"_

_"Ruby, you know the rule about the police." She says sternly _

_"I know, I know." I roll my eyes "If we tell them, they'll send us to foster care and we'll get split up, and we can't afford that." _

_"Good girl." She smiles, pulling on one of Beck's hoodies _

_"What if he wants to wear that?" I ask _

_"Look when you get a little older and have your own boyfriend," she chuckles "You'll learn that hoodies are always fair game."_

_"I've had a boyfriend!" I exclaim "Tommy! Remember?"_

_"That only lasted like a month." _

_"Well sorry I can't top your three and a half years." I scoff "Not everybody meets their soul mate when they're fourteen you know." _

_"Yes I know." She laughs _

_Silence. _

_"How long are we gonna stay here?" I finally ask _

_"I honestly don't know..." She sighs "Maybe until I can get a job and save up for an apartment or something..." _

_"I can get a job too!" I offer_

_"No. Ruby you don't have t-"_

_She's cut off when Beck re-enters the RV, carrying a cardboard box and a few brown paper shopping bags. _

_"Alrighty." He says "I dug around in the basement and found some of Lauren's old bedding..." _

_He opens the box and throws a set of bright pink twin sheets, a pillow, and a twin sized comforter that's white with multi-colored polka dots all over it. _

_I start spreading the bedding over the couch cushions while Jade sorts through the bag of toiletries he brought out for us. _

_It's not much of a bed...but it's enough for now. _

* * *

I thought we'd be there a month, two tops. But then Jade got pregnant, and she and the baby had to stay with Beck. And I needed to stay with Jade. So we all stayed together, and we became a family all our own.

"Hey." Trevor greets me from the door

"Hey." I smile and stand up "I thought you weren't coming home until five."

"The guy I was supposed to meet for lunch had to cancel." He shrugs "And I had some time before my meeting with management, so I thought I'd come hang out here with you for a little while."

He leans forwards and presses a quick, but soft kiss to my lips.

"Whatcha lookin at?"

"Found an old scrapbook and some photo albums." I tell him, taking his hand and leading him over to sit on the bed. "Remember this?"

He opens the scrapbook and turns a few pages.

"How can I forget?" He smiles "I still can't believe you kept the movie stub from our first date..."

"It's sentimental to me!" I exclaim "I don't want to forget."

"How could you forget?" He laughs "That was the first night I did this."

He leans forward and kisses me again, a little rougher this time.

"You were a terrible kisser back then." I smirk, draping my arms around his neck

"I was a teenage boy." He rolls his eyes "It's not like I had a whole lot of practice at fifteen. I got better at it."

"Did you?"

"I did!" He scoffs, wrapping his arms around my waist and pushing my backwards so I'm laying on my back on the bed "Let me prove it."

"What time is your meeting?" I ask as he starts kissing my neck

He stops to think.

"2:45."

I glance over at the clock, it reads 1:57.

"We've got time." I shrug

"Yeah." He agrees, kissing me "We've got time."


	42. Chapter 42

_Jade's POV_

"Should I go wake her up?" Beck asks, maneuvering around the kitchen with Violet on his hip

"No!" I exclaim as I set a plate of pancakes down on the table "No I want to do it!"

"You did it last year!"

"No I didn't!"

"Let's just go together." He suggests "It's not every year somebody turns ten."

He's right. Today is Miss Sophie Marie Oliver's tenth birthday.

I nod in agreement and follow him upstairs to Sophie's room.

Her door is cracked open a bit, so Beck pushes it open gently and steps inside.

She's still asleep, laying on her stomach, one arm draped over the edge of her bed, the other clutching her teddy bear.

Beck smirks and nods his head towards the bed, I walk softly across the carpeting, careful not to make any noise, and sit down on the edge of the bed next to my sleeping daughter.

"Sophie, baby girl..." I whisper, brushing a strand of hair out of her face "Wake up. It's a big day."

"Mom?" She yawns, opening her eyes to look at me "Is it time to get up?"

"Yeah." I smile "Do you remember what today is?"

"My birthday." She smiles, rubbing the sleep from her eyes "Does this mean I can open my presents from Aunt Cat now?"

My children are fortunate enough to have not just one, but two pop star aunts. One biological, one not. Cat happens to be touring in Europe this month, and mailed Sophie her presents a few days in advance. Ruby is in town, she Trevor and the kids will be over later tonight, and I expect Tori will be over sometime today too, either by herself or Andre when their son when Andre gets home from work.

"Well you can open them now or you can open them later tonight when Aunt Ruby and Uncle Trevor come are over?"

"Now! Please Mom please?" She begs

"I don't know..." I tease her "What do you think, Dad?"

"I don't care." Beck shrugs "But she has to eat breakfast first."

"Let go eat then!" She exclaims, practically jumping out of bed and running to the kitchen.

"Time flies, huh?" Beck chuckles, grabbing my hand with the one of his that isn't being used to support Violet.

"It sure does..." I agree "It seems like just yesterday a nurse was handing her to me in a little pink blanket."

"I don't miss the crying." He laughs

I have to admit, sometimes I do.

* * *

_"Shhhhhh Sophie baby it's okay." I whisper to the crying baby in my arms._

_She's been crying for almost 10 straight minutes and I've tried everything. I fed her, change her, everything!_

_"Is she okay?" Beck asks from the doorway._

_"She's fine." I say "She's just cranky."_

_He smiles a half smile and holds his arms out._

_I hand Sophie to him and he tries rocking her for a little while. She quiets down a little buit, but ot enough to put her back to sleep._

_"Go back to bed. I've got this." He says softly and kisses my cheek._

* * *

"Wait what?" Ruby almost chokes on her drink later that night

I had just told her what Cat had sent Sophie for her birthday.

"Not just one either!" I add "Three different ones!"

My friend had never told me what she was getting Sophie for her birthday, which was fine, having no children of her own, she loved spoiling mine. The 'little kid, big kid' Steve Madden boots, leggings, flannel shirt, and Sophie sized beanie hadn't surprised me. The assortment of Sephora pastel hair chalk did. Three colors, pink, purple, and turquoise.

"Maybe she thought she'd take after you?" Ruby shrugs

"I didn't dye my hair until I was fourteen!" I exclaim "She's in fourth grade!"

"For like three more days!" Sophie adds from across the room

"Don't remind me." I roll my eyes

"Ooooh." Ruby raises an eyebrow "Almost to fifth grade, somebody feeling old, Mom?"

"I'm twenty eight!" I snap

"Whatever." She chuckles "Just be happy it was hair chalk and not permanent hair dye. Besides, you can always hide it from her."

"True."

"Did Aunt Tori and Uncle Andre bring anything?" She asks, referencing her manager

"Bright pink surround sound headphones." I say flatly

"So they knew about the present you're getting her then I take it?"

Beck and I had gotten her a PearPod, she hasn't opened it yet, that's for after cake.

"I might've mentioned it to Tori." I sigh "I just don't want her to turn into one of those spoiled child-of-two-celebrities brats, you know?"

"She won't." Ruby assures me "She's got great parents to keep a good head on her shoulders."

"Alright, Sophie!" Beck calls from the kitchen "Cake!"

"Yay!" Sophie exclaims and runs over to him

He sets a zebra-print cake on the kitchen island that says "Happy Birthday Sophie!" On it in pink fondant letters, complete with ten candles.

"Ready?" Beck asks as he helps her climb into on of the chairs at the island

She nods

"Okay everybody..." He tells us "1-2-3!"

"_Happy Birthday to You_

_Happy Birthday to You_

_Happy Birthday Dear Sophie_

_Happy Birthday to You_!" Beck, Trevor, Ruby and I all sing together as Sophie grins

When we finish, she blows all her candles out in one breath.

"Good job, Soph!" I tell her

"Thanks." She blushes

"I love you baby girl." Beck kisses her cheek as he picks up the cake so he can move it somewhere safer to cut.

"I love you too, Daddy." She tells him

"Awww." Ruby coos "Somebody's wrapped around someone's finger..."

"I swear to god Ruby Kaitlyn, if you start singing 'All American Girl' you will be kicked out of this party." I say, shooting my sister a sideways glance

"Ooh Aunt Ruby!" Sophie laughs "Mom full-named you!"

"I wasn't gonna sing!" Ruby exclaims

"That's a lie." Trevor smirks, picking Aaron up off the floor and fastening a bib on him

"I wasn't!"

* * *

"Mom look!" Sophie exclaims, ripping paper off a rather large box from Ruby and Trevor "An electric scooter!"

"Wow." I smile "What do you say?"

"Thank you!" She grins

"You're welcome." Ruby smiles, rocking back and forth as a sleeping Olivia lays against her shoulder "You wanted one of those right?"

"Daddy! Uncle T! Can we put it together?" She asks

"I don't know...it's starting to gets kinda late." He gestures to the sleeping baby boys he holds "Maybe I can come over tomorrow and help."

"Okay." She frowns

"Remember when she was entertained by the simplest things?" I sigh, leaning against Beck's shoulder "Now she has a scooter and hair dye."

"Hair chalk." He corrects me "But yeah, I remember. Those were the good ole' days..."

* * *

_"Okay this one is from Aunt Tori."_

_Sophie tears the paper off and her face lights up immediately._

_"What is it Sophie?" I ask._

_Beck turns the box to reveal a "My Pal Violet" toy._

_"Oh Sophie you've been asking for that!" I gasp_

_"Yay! Tank Wu!" Sophie giggles_

_"You're so so welcome Sophie! I knew you'd been asking Mommy for that!"_

_"Yeah and I didn't buy it for a reason." I inform her_

_She laughs_

_"Oh have fun then."_

* * *

"There's one more present, Soph." I tell her

"Really?" Her face lights up

"Yeah." I laugh "You didn't think Dad and I would forget to buy you something do you? Go check out Vi's swing."

She runs over to the baby swing and pulls the blanket that had been covering her present off.

"That's a pretty small box." Beck says "I wonder what's in it..."

"I don't know." Sophie shrugs and begins tearing at the paper

The pink and white wrapping falls to the floor as my daughter stands staring shocked at the PearCompany box.

"A PearPod!?" She exclaims

"You like it?" I smile

"Yeah!" She giggles and jumps on top of Beck and I "Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" We say in unison and kiss the sides of her face.

* * *

"I cannot believe she's ten." I whisper as Beck and I tiptoe out of Sophie's room that night, closing the door behind us "She's so old."

"But we're not." He smiles, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me towards him

"Yeah yeah." I roll my eyes "Teen parents. I remember."

"Hey. Don't be like that." He strokes the side of my face "She turned out just fine. We turned out just fine. We have Vi now too. We have our careers. We're good."

"Yeah." I agree and rest my head against his shoulder "We're good."


	43. Chapter 43

_Ruby's POV_

"Ruuuuby." Trevor whispers and kisses me "Ruby, baby wake up."

I open my eyes and find myself face-to-face with husband.

"Good morning." He smiles and kisses me again "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks." I laugh, cupping his face in my hands "Where are the kids?"

"Downstairs." He tells me "They helped me make breakfast for you. It'll be ready in like fifteen minutes"

"Did they now?"

"You bet." He smirks, hoping off the bed and extending a hand to me

I take it and he helps me stand up before escorting me downstairs.

"Hey goofballs!" He greets the babies "Look who's awake!"

They turn their heads to look at me and grins instantly spread across their faces.

"Hey goobers!" I smile and sit down on the floor to play with them

Aaron says something in their baby language I can't understand and hands me a block.

"For me?" I gasp, he nods "Why thank you, Aaron!"

He smiles and returns to playing, meanwhile, Olivia giggles and crawls into my lap.

"Oh Mommy!" Trevor says, approaching us from behind "Wanna open presents?"

"Sure." I smile as he sits down next to me, handing me a bag.

Inside, I find three small wrapped boxes, they read 'From Aaron', 'From Jonah', and "From Olivia'.

"Are these from you guys?" I ask, beginning to open Aaron's box

They ignore me.

"Okay then." I laugh

Aaron gets me a diamond necklace, Jonah the matching necklace, and Olivia the matching earrings.

"Thank you, babies!" I turn my attention to Trevor "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiles, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "Your present from me is in the front room."

"I can't open it in here?" I ask as I stand up, causing Olivia to start fussing "Hold on baby I'll be right back."

"Nope." He shakes his head "Close your eyes."

"Alright." I laugh as he steps behind me, covering my eyes to assure I don't cheat "Just tell me!"

"Nope you have to wait and see!" He tells me as we walk

"Trevor!"

"Ruby!" He mocks my tone "Alright are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure you're really ready?"

"Baby!" I groan

"Okay okay." He laughs "Ready? 1...2...3!"

He takes his hands away, and at first I'm not sure where to look until I see the shiny, black, grand piano sitting right in front of me. Complete with a bright red bow on top and everything.

"Oh my god!" I exclaim, hugging him "Thank you!"

"You like it?" He chuckles

"Yes!" I laugh, kissing him "I love it. Thank you."

"Anything for my superstar."

* * *

"Okay we're live in thirty seconds!" A producer announces

"Good, let's get this over with." Jade whispers so only I can hear

Morgan Cross contacted us a few weeks back asking us to make an appearance on some local morning show today. Jade wanted to say no because it was my birthday, but I told her it would be fine.

Beck, Trevor, and the kids are backstage playing in our dressing room, when we're finished we'll all go out to lunch to celebrate.

"And 3...2...1!" Someone says

"Hello and welcome back!" The anchor sitting across from us, Diane, smiles towards the camera "As promised before the break, we're here with everybody's favorite pair of celebrity siblings Jade Oliver and Ruby Samuels! How are you ladies today."

"We're good." Jade tells her "Thank you."

"It's been a pretty eventful year for the two of you. I mean Jade, you wrote and produced 'Borderline' which did _outstanding_ at the box office by the way, congratulations."

"Thank you." She blushes

"And Ruby, you released a new album and went on a world tour. And somehow you both managed to find time to have babies in there! You guys are what? 24 and 28?"

"25." I correct her

"Oh that's right." The interviewer smiles, looking at her notes "Happy Birthday, Ruby."

The audience begins to cheer, which makes me blush.

"But back in January you two also decided to go public with a very personal piece of information..." Diane says, her tone suddenly serious "I won't go into details because I'm sure they can bring up some dark memories for you guys, but tell us, why? Why did you decide to share this story with the world?"

"Well..." I sigh "Unfortunately, we're not the only ones out there, you know? And I guess we figured, if our story gives someone the courage to reach out for help and get themselves out of a similar situation sooner than we did...then the story is worth sharing."

"Amazing." Diane gasps "Now, Jade. I understand that you and your husband, Beck, you two adopted Ruby when she was seventeen. Is that correct?"

"It is." Jade nods

"Do you mind if you ask why that point?" She asks "Why seventeen? She was close to adulthood at that point. Why not sooner?"

"Well in order for us to have adopted her any earlier, we would have needed my father's permission...which we wouldn't have been able to get." Jade explains "As for the rest...by the time my oldest daughter, Sophie, was born, Beck, Ruby, and I were like our own little family. And there was... an incident, back in early 2014. Without really getting into too much detail, I almost would not have been around anymore. If that had happened, Beck would've gotten to keep Sophie, but Ruby would've been collected by the state, and the family would've gotten split up. Thankfully I was fine. But I think that kinda scared Beck and I into really considering it. Then when my father...passed away...the state wanted to collect her anyway. So we stepped up and said we'd adopt her."

"She was basically my mom anyway." I add "She had been for a while."

Jade nods in agreement.

"Do your kids ever ask about what happened?"

"Well mine are too little to understand it, and Violet is too, but I believe Sophie has asked..." I say

"She heard about it at school." Jade confirms "Someone said something to her about how her grandpa was a bad guy or something along those lines."

"What did you and Beck tell her?"

"I feel like even at ten she's too little to really get it, you know?" Jade sighs "So we told her that Mommy's dad wasn't a very nice guy, but that it was okay because he isn't around anymore. And that seemed to satisfy her."

"Do you regret not sharing the information sooner?"

"No." We say in unison

"I think it came at appropriate time." Jade says

"Yeah." I agree "It's not really something you want flying around while you're trying to build a career."

"Well, ladies, I'm certainly proud of you for staying so strong throughout this while ordeal." Diane smiles "Coming up after the break, local band, Echo Medicine, will perform. We'll be right back."

"And we're clear!" Someone yells

"Thank you ladies." Diane smiles, extending her arm to shake our hands

"What do you mean they aren't here?" A voice yells

"They didn't show!" Another one answers

"We can't have dead air!" The first voice, which I learned belongs to the production manager, exclaims "Figure something out!"

People start scrambling all over, trying to solve whatever problem has surfaced.

"What's going on?" I ask

"I don't know." Diane shrugs

A man who looks like a stage hand rushes by, I reach out and grab his arm, he stops dead in his tracks.

"What's going on?" I ask him

"Echo Medicine didn't show." He explains "We have no one to close the show now!"

"Ruby..." Jade says

"Yeah yeah." I sigh "Jade and I will do it."

"What!" Jade exclaims "No! I'm not singing on TV!"

"But you have a great singing voice!"

"The world doesn't need to know that!" She exclaims "I'm not singing!"

"Fine." I roll my eyes "Do you have a piano and a guitar on hand?"

"We should." The stagehand says hopefully "Will you do it?"

"Depends on what your looking for..."

"It can be anything!" He assures me "One of your songs, a cover, it doesn't matter. We just need something!"

"I don't have rights to any of the new songs yet..." I bite my lip "Okay, we'll cover something."

"We?"

"Yeah we." I tell him "Just give me a few minutes to go find my husband..."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Diane exclaims "Ruby Samuels and her husband, Trevor!"

The audience cheers as the camera pans over to Trevor and I. I sit at a piano, he sits on a stool next to me, playing an acoustic guitar.

*(Ruby is _italics_ and Trevor is **bold** and then when they sing **_together it'll be both_**)*

"**We didn't care if people stared**

**We'd make out in a crowd somewhere**

**Somebody'd tell us to get a room**

**It's hard to believe that was me and you**

**Now we keep saying that we're okay**

**But I don't want to settle for good not great**

**I miss the way that it felt back then I wanna feel that way again**"

"**Been so long that you'd forget the way I used to kiss your nec**k"

"_Remind me, remind me_"

"**So on fire so in love. Way back when we couldn't get enough**"

"_Remind me, remind me_"

"_Remember the airport dropping me off_

_We were kissing goodbye and we couldn't sto_p"

**"I felt bad cause you missed your flight**"

"_**But that meant we had one more night**_"

"_Do you remember how it used to be_

_We'd turn out the lights and we didn't just sleep_"

"**Remind me, baby, remind me**"

"_Oh, so on fire so in love_

_That look in your eyes that I miss so much_"

"**Remind me, baby, remind me**"

"**I wanna feel that way**"

"_Yeah, I wanna hold you close_"

"_**Oh, if you still love me**_

_**Don't just assume I know**_"

"_Baby, remind me, remind me"_

_"Do you remember the way it felt?_"

"**You mean back when we couldn't control ourselves**"

"_Remind me_"

"**Yeah, remind me**"

"_All those things that you used to do_

_That made me fall in love with you_

_Remind me, oh, baby, remind me"_

"**Yeah, you'd wake up in my old t-shirt**

**All those mornings I was late for work**

**Remind me**"

"_**Oh, baby, remind me**_"

"_Oh, baby, remind me, baby, remind me"_

"**Yeah, you'd wake up in my old t-shirt**"

"_Remind me, yeah, oh"_

"**Baby remind me**"


	44. Chapter 44

**Ruby's outfit and Trevor's can be found on my profile, as can each of the babies.**

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"Ruby get up." Trevor sighs "Come on, we need to start getting ready!"

"No!" I groan and pull a pillow over my head "If I stay in bed today they'll stay babies for another day!"

"They're still going to be babies!" He exclaims "They'll just be babies who are a year old!"

"I'm not getting up." I tell him

"Ruby." He sits down on the bed next to me "Imagine how upset they'll be when their mom isn't around to celebrate their birthday with them."

"Oh that's low." I groan "Even for you."

"Come on you don't want them to be sad, do you?"

"No." I sigh, throwing the sheets off "Fine I'll get up."

"That's my girl."

"Yeah yeah." I roll my eyes and walk into the bathroom to start my shower, closing the door behind me.

I plug my phone into the speaker, strip off my pajamas, and step into the shower, turning on the stream of water and stepping under so it can flow all over my body.

Today is the day every mother dreads, or at least should dread, their child's (or children's in my case) first birthday. It seems like just yesterday I was crouching next to their incubators, whispering to Trevor about who they looked more like, and now they're a whole year old.

Damn, time flies.

"Your little hand's wrapped around my finger..." I sing along to the music playing from the speakers "And it's so quiet in the world tonight

Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming

So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret

I'd give all I have, honey

If you could stay like that"

"_Oh darling, don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little_

_Oh darling, don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple_

_I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart_

_And no one will desert you.._."

"_Just try to never grow up, never grow u_p" Trevor sings back as he enters the bathroom "You know, singing that isn't going to change anything."

"Shut up!" I snap

"Sorry." He laughs "I left one of my socks in here, I'm leaving now."

* * *

"You look fine!" Trevor assures me as I let the last curl fall against my face "It's just like any other day!"

"But my outfit will be captured in god knows how many pictures!" I remind him as I spray my hair with hairspray "I'm done now."

My hair is curled, I'm wearing a white sleeveless blouse covered in black polka dots, salmon colored skinny jeans, and black flats. I look fine.

"Alright." I sigh, entering the bedroom "Let's go get them."

Trevor smiles and takes my hand as we walk down the hallway towards the nursery. We stop outside the door, laugh in because we can hear that they're awake and babbling to each other. Trevor reaches forward and opens the door, and we both step through.

"Happy Birthday, babies!" I smile

They grin back at me

"Are you guys ready for your big day?" Trevor asks, picking Jonah up and carrying him over to the changing table "Babe get the baby gate."

I nod and move the baby gate that had been leaning up against the wall over to the door so one of them doesn't accidentally escape.

"Remember their outfits." I remind Trevor

"Yes I know." He laughs.

Each baby got a special 'My First Birthday' outfit to wear today, even though they'll all be ruined when they get to eat their smash cakes later.

Aaron has a white shirt with a red '1' and navy blue suspenders printed on it, and Jonah has the same in the opposite colors. Olivia has a white shirt that was a pink '1' on it with pink leggings that have white polka dots on them.

When the babies are dressed, Trevor picks up Olivia and Aaron and I take Jonah, and all five of us go downstairs.

Trevor already decorated while I was upstairs getting ready myself. There's 'Happy First Birthday' signs and streamers everywhere. There's a few presents on the table, but their real present is in the backyard. I open the sliding glass door and step out onto the patio, Trevor follows me.

"Okay kiddos." I smile "Happy Birthday."

"They don't get it." Trevor chuckles

"That's okay."

We already have a pool, so for their first birthday, we decided to add a swing set to the backyard entertainment. Trevor's brother knows someone in the business, so we were able to get a pretty good deal. It's wooden, there's a platform that has stairs leading to it on one side, a mini rock wall and a ladder on the other side. From that platform there's stairs to another platform that leads to a twisty slide and a regular slide. Under the first platform there's a sandbox and extending off the structure there's a beam that can hold up to four swings, but right now there's only three baby swings fastened on, two greens and a purple.

"You guys wanna play on the swings?" I ask

"Sure mom!" Trevor says in a baby voice as we approach the swing set

We fasten each of them into their respective swings and take tunes pushing them back and forth, they giggle hysterically. They've never been on swings before, at least to my knowledge (who knows what they get to do when Uncle Beck watches them).

"See?' Trevor grins "I told you they'd like it."

"Yeah yeah." I smile and roll my eyes, returning my attention to Olivia's swing

"Hey." He taps my shoulder

"Wha-" I'm cut off by his lips crashing into mine

We stand there kissing until the babies start whining when their swings start moving.

"What was that for?" I laugh when we break away

"Thank you." He smiles

"For what?"

"For giving me three, beautiful, amazing, wonderful children." He smiles "And for going through hell to make it possible. I love you."

"I love you too." I blush


	45. Chapter 45

_Ruby's POV_

"NO!" A tiny voice exclaims from the living room

"All gone!" Another one responds

The exchange is followed by an outburst of tears.

"Babe." I groan, glancing at my husband

"I'm on it." He nods and exits the room, leaving me to finish up lunch by myself

My guess is one of the boys, most likely Aaron, stole a toy of Olivia's and she freaked out.

"He stole that stupid rabbit again." Trevor sighs, entering the kitchen with Aaron in his arms.

I was right.

"Aaron." I gasp as his dad hands him to me "You can't keep ganging up on your sister like this."

"Jade called it." Trevor chuckles, taking over the cooking for me so I can hold the baby "He's the troublemaker of the group."

"He's also the reason my hair is growing grey at twenty five!" I exclaim, kissing Aaron quickly on the top of his head

"Are you sure he's the _only_ reason?"

"You know what I meant."

"Swing!" Aaron squeals, pointing out the kitchen window towards the swing set

"No Aaron." I chuckle "You can't steal people's toys and then expect to be rewarded with a ride in the swing. Maybe _after_ naptime."

"No!" He pouts

"Don't try to argue with me, Aaron Trevor." I chuckle "I know _way_ more words than you do."

"Daddy." He frowns and extends his arms to Trevor

"Fine." Trevor laughs and takes him back from me "But I'm not letting you in the swing ether."

"Mommy and Daddy, one. Aaron, zero." I smirk "I don't understand why he tortures Olivia so much more than he does Jonah."

"They all take turns tormenting each other." Trevor reminds me "He just knows how to really bother Olivia."

"Well that's gotta stop."

"He's one..."

"Nip it in the butt." I shrug "Before it becomes a real, _legitimate_ problem."

"He'll grow out if it."

"Will he?" I ask

"For the sake of not arguing in front of him?" Trevor says "Yes."

"Sorry." I apologize "Let's change the subject."

"I had something I wanted to talk to about anyways." He tells me

"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow "And?"

"I talked to my brother last night." He begins "He says hi."

"Hi Derek." I chuckle "How are Serena and the kids?"

"They're good." He tells me "The kids are actually why he called me."

I have two nephews on Trevor's side. Four year old twin boys, Logan and Reid. I haven't seen anybody on his side since the babies were born close to a year ago. No...wait, they came to my show in Boston this year, but I didn't get to spend much time with them...Trevor will fly out to Boston every so often to visit them and his parents. But I usually stay here with the babies.

"Are they okay?" I ask "Did Logan break another limb?"

"No." Trevor chuckles, Logan is known to...cause accidents...of the personal kind. "No Logan is fine. Derek is actually taking the boys down to their beach house in South Carolina for a few days next week...kinda like a boys weekend."

"And you wanna go with?" I guess

"Please?" He smiles

"Sure." I shrug "We don't have anything planned."

"Thank you!" He kisses my cheek "But there's one more thing."

"And what would that be?" I ask, considering everything he could possibly want

"He asked if I wanted to bring Aaron and Jonah with." He tells me "Full out dude's trip."

"I don't know..." I hesitate "How long would we be talking?"

"Four days."

I cringe.

"Five at the max." He adds "Ruby, baby. Please? I think it'd be good for all three of us."

"They've never been away from one of us for that long." I sigh

"Babe! I promise I'll take extra special care of them!" He begs "I'll have guy time with them, and you can have girl time with Livy! Come one Ruby, think about the kids they're used to being around. Sophie, Olivia, and Violet! They need some boy time with their cousins!"

"I'm sure they'll be fine." I assure him "I just don't know if I will."

"We'll skype everyday!" He promises "Ruby, please."

"Skype everyday and at least one phone call a day." I offer

"Sure!" He exclaims "Yeah. If that's what you want!"

"Fine..." I sigh, biting my lip

"Yes!" He kisses me "Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're welcome..."

"You sure you're okay with it?"

"Yeah." I smirk "They'll be in good hands. I need some girl time anyways..."

He kisses me again.

"I'm gonna go call Derek back."


	46. Chapter 46

_Ruby's POV_

"Say hi Livy!" I coo to the baby sitting in my lap "Say hi to Daddy!"

"Hi!" She smiles, sticking her fist in her mouth

"Hi baby girl!" Trevor waves to her through the computer screen "Are you having fun with Mommy?"

Livy says nothing, but smiles and hides her face in my chest.

"Are the boys being good?" I ask him

"They're being great." He assures me "Logan and Reid love them to pieces too."

"That's great." I smile

"Hi Aunt Ruby!" Logan yells in the background

"Hey Loganator." I chuckle "So what do you guys have planned for today?"

"Derek bought some fireworks so we figured we'd let them light them..." Trevor tells me "You know, after they get done playing with their knives."

"What?"

"I'm kidding, babe." He laughs "We're taking them fishing."

"Fishing." I sigh "Better than knives I guess."

"But still not safe enough for you?" He asks

"Just..." I hesitate "Don't let them fall off the boat, okay?"

"Don't worry, babe. I've got this, I promise." He assures me "But I need to go now, okay?"

"Okay." I frown "Call me later?"

"Of course." He smirks

"I love you."

"Love you too." He kisses the screen "Bye Liv!"

"Bye-bye!" She waves, her father returns the gesture, then ends the call

"So kiddo," I sigh, turning Olivia around to face me "What are us girls gonna do today? Hm? Wanna play outside? Go to the park?"

My daughter points to something out of my field of vision, most likely in the next room.

"The piano? You want Mommy to okay piano for you?"

She nods.

"Alright." I laugh, standing up and resting her on my hip "That seems easy enough."

I walk I to the front room and close the lid on the piano, sitting the baby down on top.

"Comfy?"

She giggles and covers her mouth with both hands.

"Goober." I smile, kissing the top of her nose and sitting down "Let's see...what to play, what to play..."

Olivia smiles and kicks her legs

"_You were in college working part time waiting tables.._." I begin playing and singing to her "_Left a small town, never looked back_

_I was a flight risk with a fear of fallin'_

_Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts_

_I say "Can you believe it?_

_As we're lying on the couch?"_

_The moment I can see it._

_Yes, yes, I can see it now._

_Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?_

_You put your arm around me for the first time._

_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter._

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

_Flash forward and we're taking on the world together,_

_And there's a drawer of my things at your place._

_You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded,_

_You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes._

_But we got bills to pay,_

_We got nothing figured out,_

_When it was hard to take,_

_Yes, yes, this is what I thought about._

_Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?_

_You put your arm around me for the first time_

_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter_

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

_Do you remember all the city lights on the water?_

_You saw me start to believe for the first time_

_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter_

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine._

_And I remember that fight_

_Two-thirty AM_

_As everything was slipping right out of our hands_

_I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street_

_Braced myself for the "Goodbye."_

_'Cause that's all I've ever known_

_Then you took me by surprise_

_You said, "I'll never leave you alone."_

_You said, "I remember how we felt sitting by the water._

_And every time I look at you, it's like the first time._

_I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter._

_She is the best thing that's ever been mine."_

_Hold on, make it last_

_Hold on, never turn ba_-"

The cell phone in my pocket starts ringing, distracting me completely. I oull it out and check the caller ID and see it's my management office.

Wonderful.

"This is Ruby." I answer

"Hi Ruby!" An all to perky woman greets me "This is Katie from Andre Harris's office."

"Hi Katie."

"Mr. Harris says he needs to meet with you as soon as possible, something really important." She informs me "Can you do a 12:30?"

I glance at the clock, it's 11:45

"I guess." I sigh

"I'm sure he wouldn't contact you on such short notice if it wasn't important!" She assures me "I'll let him know you're coming."

"Thank you."

"Buh-bye now!" She hangs up

I lock my phone and stick it in my back pocket again, throwing a sympathetic look Olivia's way.

"I'm sorry baby girl." I apologize "It looks like you have to go play with Aunt Jade for a little while today."

* * *

"Ruby!" Andre greets me "Come on in! Have a seat!"

"This had better be good..." I tell him as I enter his office "Today was supposed to be Mommy-Daughter bonding day."

"I'm sorry." He apologizes "But we just have some stuff that needs to be taken care of, like this..."

He slides a magazine towards me.

'_Trevor Samuels Vacations in South Carolina with Sons Aaron and Jonah_' it reads, below is a picture of Trevor and the boys playing on the beach I'm assuming the first day they were there.

I give Andre a confused glance. He points to the subtitle.

'_Wife Ruby nowhere to be seen. Could the couple be navigating rough waters_?'

"Paparazzi loves to jump to conclusions." I tell him "Trevor and I are fine."

"I'm just checking." He assures me "Okay next order of business."

"Which is?"

"Album number three." He sighs, leaning back in his chair

"Andre I said-"

"You said." He cuts me off "No talk of a third album until after the triplet's first birthday. I'm pretty sure I sent three grow-to-ride tricycles in the mail about a month ago, which means..."

"I get it." I sigh "So what do you want from me? To say I'll do it? To agree to another tour?"

"Look." He stops me "I get it, you have kids now, you might possibly want more-"

"Have you been talking to Trevor?" I ask

"Just listen, please. You're on a five year, three album contract with me. We're entering year four now. I'd like to have the third album released by the end of this year, what's what your fans are saying."

"Okay, so we have a year." I shrug

"You and I both know how much effort it takes to produce an album." He reminds me "And how long."

I sigh and rub my temples, because I know he's right. I've never tried making an album with kids around. I was newly married on the first one, and got pregnant in the middle of the second. I want to be around for my kids, but I want to make an album, and the process is so time consuming. But it's not like I have much of an option.

"Alright." I say "Let's start album three."

"That's my girl." Andre grins, reaching out to shake my hand

"I have a few conditions." I tell him

"Okay..." He leans back

"One, I can't put in more than thirty hours a week. My kids are still little enough they can forget who I am."

"I'd say that's fair" He nods in agreement "Anything else."

"_Angel_ and _Knockout_." I say flatly, referencing two if my unreleased songs "They got cut from the last album, but I like them. A lot. So I want them in this one."

"I'll see what I can do." He smiles "Is that it?"

"Yeah." I nod "Yeah that's it."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Ruby." He laughs "You know what you want, you make my job easy."

* * *

"Okay. You're not allowed to kill me." Jade says when she opens the door

"Hello to you too." I laugh, stepping inside the house

"No Ruby, seriously." She tells me

"Please tell me she's still in one piece." I cringe, growing more and more worried by the second

"Olivia! Mommy's here!" Jade calls "Just wait for it."

A few seconds later, Sophie appears around the corner, holding Olivia's hand. My diagnose grins ear to ear as she toddles along next to her cousin.

"_Olivia_." I gasp, bending down to her level and opening my arms "Come here, baby!"

Sophie let's go of her hand, and Livy takes a few shaky steps forward, collapsing I to my arms.

"Holy crap!" I kiss the top of her head, standing up again "Why didn't you call me?"

"I tried like four times!" Jade exclaims "Your phone is off!"'

She's right, it was. I always turn it off during management meetings.

"I can't believe I missed your first steps!" I coo to the baby in my arms "Oh my god, _Daddy_!"

"He'll be so proud of you!" Jade smiles to her "But Rube, really. Don't beat yourself up, it happens."

I missed my daughter's first steps, after just agreeing to start working _more._

* * *

Later that night, I'm awoken by a baby's cry, something that hasn't happened in a very long time.

I pull myself out of bed and drag myself down the hallway to the nursery, opening the door to see Olivia standing up in her crib, face bright red and stained with tears.

"Sweetheart," I sigh, walking over and picking her up "It's the middle of the night, what's the matter?"

"JayJay!" She frowns, pointing to Jonah's crib

"You miss your brothers, baby?" I ask

She nods and buries her head in my neck

"Oh Livy." I coo and start walking back towards my room "It's okay, they'll be back soon. You can sleep in Mommy's bed tonight."

I pull back the sheets and let her crawl in, climbing in next to her and letting her cuddle up next to me. Her body still shakes with the occasional sob, and I think she has the hiccups.

"I love you, baby girl." I whisper to her, brushing a lock of light brown hair out of her face "Always remember that."


	47. Chapter 47

_4 Years Later..._

_Ruby's POV_

"Mommy!" I hear a voice say "Mommy! Wake up!"

"What's the matter, Olivia?" I ask, slowly gaining consciousness after waking from the deep sleep I had been enjoying so much

I look at the clock on my bedside table, it reads 6:49 am.

"Is it time to go to school yet?"

"No, baby..." I say, sitting up "School doesn't start for almost another six hours still."

"Aw..." My daughter pouts

She, along with her two brothers, are so excited to start kindergarten later today, apparently they can't sleep.

"Come on..." I yawn, starting to climb out of bed "Let's go back to bed."

"No, Mommy!" She exclaims "I'm too excited to sleep!"

"It's too early, baby..." I tell her "If you get up now, you're going to be too tired to go to school later."

"No, I promise I won't be!"

"Back to bed, Olivia Jade." I say, starting to grow slightly impatient with her

"But Mommy..."

"Do you want to stay in bed with me and Daddy?" I offer "It's either in here with us or back in your own bed, I'm not letting you get up yet."

"Okay!" She exclaims, running back towards the bed I had just crawled out of and jumping in

"Be careful, Olivia!" I warn "Don't wake Daddy up!"

"Daddy is already awake..." Trevor groans

"Sorry, Daddy..." Olivia frowns

"It's okay, baby..." He says groggily, rolling over to face her as I climb back into bed "Just try to go back to sleep, okay?"

"O-okay..." Olivia yawns, the early hour suddenly starting to catch up with her "I will."

Trevor kisses her forehead, then rolls back over, falling back to sleep almost instantly.

"Is school going to be fun, Mommy?"

"You bet it is." I say, closing my eyes again, with hopes of falling back to sleep as well

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

"AARON NO! THAT'S MINE!" I hear a small voice exclaim from the living room "GIVE IT BACK!"

"Not again..." I groan "TREVOR?"

"I'M ON IT!" My husband calls from somewhere else in the house "Hey! Aaron! What are you doing?"

I turn my attention back to the mac-n-cheese that is almost finished, thankful that it's not my responsibility to break up this Aaron-Jonah fight.

They're five year old boys, who share a room, and almost all of their toys. Fighting is to be expected, but Aaron is _quite_ the handful.

"Why did we get them puzzles that spell out their names if they're just gonna steal the pieces from each other?" Trevor sighs, entering the kitchen

"Um, Uncle Beck and Aunt Jade bought them those." I remind him "And did he seriously try to take puzzle pieces from Jonah?"

"Yup, and then he got pissed because he couldn't make the 'H' fit in the 'N' spot."

"Oh Aaron..." I sigh, beginning to spoon mac-n-cheese into three individual plastic bowls

One has an Iron Man logo, one has a Captain America logo, and the third has pink flowers all over it.

"At least we're going to get three hours to ourselves today." Trevor smiles, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist

"Oh yeah," I smirk "That's right."

"You know what we should do?" He asks me

"Watch Dirty Dancing?"

"God, no Ruby!"

"No I know what you're thinking..." I laugh "I just don't want to mention it with little ears in such close range. AARON, JONAH, OLIVIA! LUNCH IS READY!"

The pitter-patter of little feet grow louder and louder until my triplets arrive in the kitchen, ready for their lunch of mac-n-cheese and apple slices before they head off to their first day of kindergarten.

"Let's see...we have Iron Man for Aaron..." I place his bowl and a fork down in front of him at the kitchen island "Captain America for Jonah, and flowers for Miss Olivia! And a big bowl of apple slices to share! What does every one want to drink?"

"Apple juice, please!"

"Milk, please!"

"Apple juice!"

"Aaron..." I raise an eyebrow at my oldest five-year old "Did you forget something?"

"Apple juice, _please_." He sighs

"That's better." I ruffle his hair, then turn to the refrigerator to retrieve the bottles of milk and juice

Life over the past four years certainly has been hectic. I wrote and then released another album, which had four number one's, all of which have gone platinum. I went on another world tour, which ended up having five legs instead of the two that my first one had. Trevor started writing music, both for me, _and _for other artists, like Cat Valentine, and Justin Timberlake. We welcomed a new nephew about eighteen months ago, Mr. Wesley Jonathan Oliver. Jade wrote a Broadway musical that ended up winning three Tony awards, and Beck has won too many Oscars to count.

As our kids finish up eating, Trevor and I help them bring their bowls and glasses to the sink. Then we help them wash their hands and wipe off their mouths. Normally, after lunch time, they would get twenty minutes to play before they have to take a nap. But for about the past month or so we've been weaning them off of their naps to get them ready for afternoon kindergarten.

"Is it time to go to school now?" Jonah asks Trevor

"It sure is!" My husband smiles down at him

"Yay!" Jonah exclaims "Come on guys! It's time for school!"

Aaron and Olivia both join in in his excitement, taking off towards the front door to retrieve their backpacks that have been hanging there, waiting patiently for almost a week now.

"Uh uh." I stop them "Shoes first."

My kids groan and retrieve their Velcro gym shoes out of the basket by the door.

"Remember guys," Trevor kneels down to help "The shoe with the 'L' on the bottom goes on your..."

"Left foot." They answer in unison

"And the one with the 'R' on the bottom goes on your..."

"Right foot."

"Good job!" He grins "You guys are so smart. Definitely ready for kindergarten."

"Okay, who has the dinosaur backpack!" I ask, pulling it off of it's hook

"Me! Me!" Jonah jumps up and down

"Here you go." I laugh, handing it to him "And who has the robots?"

"Me!" Aaron exclaims

I pass the backpack to Trevor so he can help him put it on, then grab the last backpack off the last hook.

"And _who_ has the princess backpack?"

"I do, Mommy!" Olivia squeals "I do!"

I kneel down and open the straps, allowing her to easily slide her backpack on.

"Is Vi going to school today too?"

"No kiddo, I'm afraid not." I tell her "Only the kids who were born before September get to go to school today, and Vi was born in November."

"Oh..." Olivia frowns "Well can I play with her when I get home?"

"I think that can be arranged, yeah." I nod

"Okay!" She grins

I feel bad, Jade's daughter Violet is Olivia's best friend, she's also the closest thing she has to a sister at the moment. They're only five months apart, but because of her birthday, Violet has to wait another year before starting kindergarten.

"Alright, kiddos!" I stand up "Who's ready for school?"

"Meeeee!" All three of them raise their hands

"I am, I am, I am!" Trevor exclaims, raising his own hand and jumping up and down

"Daddy!" Aaron groans "You're too _old_ to go to school, stop being silly!"

"Yeah, Daddy!" I tease him "Stop being silly!"


	48. Chapter 48

_Ruby's POV_

"No pressure or anything..." I whisper to the white plastic stick on the counter in front of me "But Trevor will kill me if you're not positive."

He's been trying to convince me to have 'just one more' since the triplets learned how to crawl, now that they're five, he's about jumping out of his skin for another one. And when Beck and Jade had Wesley, his baby wish only grew stronger. He let me have my time to focus on the music, and I love him so much for that, so do my fans, but we thought now that I'm between albums again, this would be a good time to try. But we haven't had any success so far.

That's just my luck too, we start as newlyweds having triplets on accident, and now that we're actually trying we can't even get one. Go figure.

"MOMMY!" A voice yells from down the hallway "ARE YOU COMING?"

"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" I yell back

I exit the master bathroom and pull the door closed behind me, starting out of my bedroom and down the hall towards the one Jonah and Aaron share. I pass Olivia's room on the way, and notice that Trevor is in there with her.

"Hey." I stop in the doorway "Did you say goodnight to the boys yet?"

"Yeah." He says "Their just waiting on you now."

"Kay." I nod, starting to walk again before stopping myself "Hey, by the way, when you're done in here, don't go in the bathroom."

"Why not?" He asks

"Just...don't."

"Okay...?"

I keep walking towards the next bedroom down, that belongs to my two little boys.

"Okay, I'm here. Sorry." I apologize "Did you have fun at school today?"

"Yeah!" Aaron tells me as I lean down an kiss him goodnight

"That's good." I laugh "What about you, JonahBug?"

"It was fun." He smiles

"So you're gonna go back tomorrow?"

"Yeah!"

"Good." I laugh, turning on their nightlight "That's what I like to hear! I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay!"

"I love you both." I blow two kisses into the bedroom "Goodnight."

"Night night!"

"Goodnight, Mommy!"

I switch their light off and step out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind me. I hear laughter coming from Olivia's room, and I can only guess that Trevor doesn't even have her _close _to ready for bed.

"_I live for you, I long for you, Olivia. I've been idolizing the light in your eyes, Olivia._.." Trevor is singing when I enter the pink bedroom, holding our daughter in his arms, dancing around the room "_I live for you, I long for you, Olivia. Don't let me go...Don't let me go_."

"Alright goofballs, bedtime."

"Are you ever gonna let me go, baby girl?" Trevor asks her

"No Daddy."

"That's my girl." He smiles, pressing a kiss to her cheek before setting her down

She runs over to her bed and jumps in, pulling the blankets up around her.

"Did you have fun at school?" I ask her, leaning down and kissing her forehead, then moving so Trevor can do the same

"Yeah." She nods

"Are you ready to go back tomorrow?" I turn her nightlight on

"Yeah." She grins

"Awesome." Trevor chuckles "Just don't come wake us up early again today, okay kiddo?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"Okay." He smiles

"Goodnight, Livy. I love you." I tell her

"Goodnight, Mommy." She whispers "I love you too."

"I love ya, Liv." Trevor says

"You too, Daddy."

We step out into the hallway and close her door, before heading back to our own bedroom.

"Hey Rube?" Trevor says

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna go in the bathroom!" He smirks, then takes off running down the hallways

"Trevor Samuels!" I exclaim quietly, mindful of our children, and take off running after him "I wear to god, you are such a child!"

"You love my ever lasting youthfulness, don't even lie!" He sticks his tongue out at me, pushing the bathroom door open and stepping inside "Let's see, let's see, why would my wife not want me in here?"

I take a few steps forward and snatch the pregnancy test off the counter before he can see it, hiding it in the back pocket of my jeans and going back out into the bedroom. Meanwhile, Trevor continues looking.

When I'm out of his line of vision, I take the test out of my pocket to look at the result.

It's upside down, but when I flip it over, there's two pink lines staring back at me.

"Oh my god!" I exclaim "Trevor!"

"What?" He rushes into the bedroom "What's wrong?"

"Look!" I hold the test up for him to see "This is why you couldn't go in the bathroom."

"What?" He grabbing the test out of my hands "What! Ruby! For real?"

"For real!" I grin

"I'm gonna be a Dad again?" He smiles "I'm gonna be a dad again!"

"Shhhh...keep your voice down!" I warn him "The kids will hear you!"

"Oh my god!" He picks me up and spins me around before setting me down and pressing a long, passionate kiss to my lips "I love you so much!"

"I love you too."

* * *

_Jade's POV_

"Dear Mrs. LaRue," I begin reading a book to my two youngest children "I hate to disrupt your vacation, but you must return immediately! An-"

"Woof woof!" Wesley exclaims, pointing to the illustration of the dog on the page in front of him

"Yes Wes, very good." I chuckle "The doggy says woof woof."

"Wesley!" Violet groans "Let Mommy read the story!"

"It's okay, Vi." I assure her "He's learning. Now let's see...where was I? Oh yeah. An unfortunate misunderstanding (as well as very sloppy police work) has landed me in jail."

The house phone downstairs starts ringing, but with two kids and a book on my lap, I can't go to answer it. Plus, Beck is still on set and hasn't gotten home yet.

"SOPHIE!" I yell to my fourteen year old daughter "CAN YOU GET THAT?"

"SURE!" She yells back

"Okay..." I turn back to the book "The case involves the Hibbins' cats, who have mysteriously disappeared. As usual, everyone blames the dog, without even considering whether the cats might be guilty of something."

"Mom?" Sophie appears in the doorway

"What?"

"It's Aunt Ruby, she wants to talk to you." She tells me

"Can I call her back?"

"Can she call you back?" Sophie asks my sister "She says it's important."

"Alright." I sigh "Can you finish reading this book to your brother and sister?"

"Sure." Sophie shrugs

We switch places, trading the story book for the phone and I step out into the hallway, pressing my phone to my ear.

"What is so important it can't wait until my children and I have finished reading Detective LaRue?" I laugh, walking down the hallway towards the stairs

"Sorry, Trevor is just so excited he insisted that I call you right this very second."

"I have every right to be excited!" I hear Trevor exclaim in the background

"What is it?" I ask

"Well..."

"You always draw everything out..." I chuckle "Just tell me!"

"I'm gonna be a Dad!" Trevor says

"What?"

"Trevor Ethan Samuels!" Ruby scolds "You said I could tell her!"

"Is he being serious?" I ask

"He is." I can practically hear her smiling "I'm pregnant!"

"Oh my god!" I gasp "Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" She tells me "We _literally_ just found out."

"Have you told the kids yet?"

"No, we probably won't until we go to the doctor and get it confirmed." She says "And even maybe a little longer than that."

"I won't tell my kids then, they suck at keeping secrets." I laugh "I'm assuming Trevor is excited."

"He's jumping on the bed..."

"Of course he is...he's Trevor." I roll my eyes "I'll leave you two to celebrate then. Congratulations again, baby sister."

"Thanks, big sister."


	49. Chapter 49

_Jade's POV_

Beck sneaks into our bedroom, or tries to, around eleven o'clock later that night.

"Don't bother trying to be quiet..." I tell him "I'm awake."

"Damn..." He sighs "Did I wake you when I came in?"

"No." I shake my head, turning the volume down on the TV "I was trying to wait up for you."

"Why, babe?" He laughs "You know I always get in super late when we have to shoot on location."

"I haven't seen you at all today!" I remind him, sitting up "That's why."

"I'm sorry..." He frowns, kicking off his shoes and crawling across the bed to me "We're almost done, I promise. Just two or three major scenes left for me."

He leans forward slightly and presses a kiss to my lips.

"Okay." I smile "As long as I can have you back after that."

"You say that now..." He chuckles "But give it three months of me being home and you'll be _begging_ me to go and audition for another one."

"You don't know that!"

"You're right." He smirks "I don't."

"What's your call time in the morning?"

"Eight." He tells me

"So then can you drive your oldest to school?" I ask "She doesn't like your long hours either, you know."

Our oldest daughter, Sophie, is fourteen, and just started her freshman year at Hollywood Arts about a week ago, following in the footsteps of her parents, godparents, and her aunt and uncle. Sure, the legacy might've influenced her a little, but both Beck and I told her that the choice was completely hers, and we wouldn't care either way. But we were ecstatic when she chose our alma matter. She's very serious about dance at this point in her life, then again, so was Ruby at her age, so who knows what the future has in store for her.

"Of course I can." Beck smiles "I haven't gotten the chance to talk to her about school much."

"If I told you that Erwin Sikowitz was still teaching, would you believe me?"

"Um, yeah." He laughs "I would, is he?"

"He sure is." I chuckle "Sophie has him for her last class of the day."

"Don't spoil anything!" He stops me "I want to hear it all from her!"

"Alright, alright..." I sigh

"So, what did you and Vi and Wes do all day today?"

"We went swimming..." I tell him "And then they took their naps. I got a little writing done while they were sleeping...then after they woke up we watched Inside Out for the umpteenth time this week...then Soph came home. We tried to get her to have a dance party with us but she said she had to do homework..."

"Sounds like a normal day..."

"It pretty much was..." I nod "Oh, my sister called."

"Oh my god." He gasps "I'm so incredibly shocked by the fact that your sister, who you can't go more than a day without talking to, called you!"

"Shut up!" I tease him, smacking his arm "You're never going to guess why."

"Hmmm..." He thinks for a second "You're right, I can't. Why did she call?"

"Her and Trevor are expecting again." I tell him "Ruby's pregnant."

"Really?" He smiles

"Really." I nod

"I bet Trevor is through the roof."

"Oh he is." I laugh "He spilled the beans in the background before Ruby even got a chance to tell me, apparently he was jumping on the bed he was so excited."

"That sounds like Trevor."

"They've asked that we don't say anything to the kids, though." I tell him "They don't want the triplets to know quite yet."

"Well that's understandable." He agrees "They're still young, and heaven forbid anything goes wrong it would be hard to explain to them."

"Well nothing is going to go wrong." I say

I know the pain of losing a child. It's not something I'd ever wish on _anybody, _especially my little sister.

"Right." He gives me another kiss "Let's hope. I'm going to go take a shower."

"Good." I laugh "You smell like sweat and sunscreen."

* * *

"Look Mama!" Wesley exclaims, holding up a piece of paper for me to see

"Very good, buddy." I smile, although I'm not sure what the scribbles he's drawn are supposed to resemble

"Vroom!"

"Is that a car?" I ask him

He nods.

"Those are some pretty awesome coloring skills you got there, Wes." I laugh

"Yeah..." He agrees, setting the paper back down on the table and picking up his crayon again

Wesley Jonathan Oliver. Named for my step-dad, and also for mine and Beck's first son, who unfortunately never got the chance to experience the world for himself, thanks to my biological father, who took him from us before he was even born. He would've been thirteen come this February.

When we found out that he was going to be a boy, I wasn't sure what to think. Of course, I was thrilled that he was healthy and that he was going to make it into the world, but I didn't want my first son to feel like I was replacing him. I fell into a foggy state that only finally being able to see him and hold him in my arms could snap me out of.

He's absolutely perfect in every way.

Beck was thrilled to finally have a son. Of course, he loves both Sophie and Violet more than anything, but I think every man dreams of having a son that he can mentor and share his passions with. Sophie was happy that he was a boy, because now she had a sister _and _a brother, 'one of each', and I think Violet was too little to care. She's just happy to have someone else to play with when her cousins aren't around.

"Okay buddy, time to put those away." I tell Wesley, walking over to the table and beginning to clean up his coloring materials

"No!" He exclaims "Not done!"

"But lunch is almost ready!" I tell him "Don't you want to eat your dinosaur nuggets?"

"Rawr!" He exclaims, scowling, showing me his best dinosaur impression

"That's right." I ruffle his hair "Dinosaurs say rawr! VIOLET! LUNCH TIME!"

Within a matter of minutes, my four-year old daughter runs into the room and hops into her chair at the kitchen table, just as I'm tying Wesley's bib around his neck.

"What's for lunch, Mommy?" She asks

"Chicken nuggets." I tell her

"Dinos or princesses?"

"Dinos."

"Mom!" She groans

"Vi!" I imitate her tone "We had princess nuggets last time, so now we're going to have dinosaurs for Wesley. We take turns, remember?"

"I remember..." She sighs

"If you want, you can have a princess juice box with your nuggets..." I offer

"The ones that taste like strawberries?"

"Those are the ones..." I laugh

"Okay!"


	50. Chapter 50

_Jade's POV_

"Wesley!" I exclaim "No! Icky, don't put that in your mouth!"

I push his hand away from his face, knocking the fistful of sand he had been trying to eat away as well.

He turns and looks up at me, a pout on his face. It's like I'm the meanest person in the world for not letting him swallow a mouth full of basically pulverized rocks and minerals laced with Los Angeles toxins.

"Oh I know, Wes..." Ruby chuckles "Isn't Mommy _just _the meanest?"

My son stands up, brushing the sand off of his baby-sized swim trunks and waddles over to my sister, who is sitting on the beach towel spread out in the sand to the left of mine. She wraps her arms around him and leans backwards, falling onto her back and causing Wesley to giggle uncontrollably.

"Sure." I scoff "Go run to Aunt Ruby."

"It's not my fault I'm the fun aunt!" Ruby smirks, blowing a raspberry on his cheek "Isn't that right, Wes? I'm the fun aunt! Aren't I?"

"Yeah!" He giggles

"Oh please, he doesn't even know what he's agreeing to." I roll my eyes

"But he agreed to it!"

"Whatever..."

Ruby blows another raspberry on Wesley's cheek before rolling onto her side and setting him down.

"Again, again!" He stands up, clapping his hands, trying to get her to repeat the entire process over again

"Not right now, buddy." Ruby tells him "That made me kinda tired."

"No!" He pouts "Again!"

"See what you started, Miss 'Fun Aunt'?"

"Not now, Wesley." She repeats "Later we can."

"Aw..."

"Come on, Wes..." Beck says, standing up from the beach towel to my right "Wanna go play in the water?"

"Wawa!" The toddler exclaims, jumping up and down

"Alright, let's go!" Beck grins, picking up the toddler-sized life vest, and holding out his hand for Wesley to take.

They walk a few feet towards the water before Beck picks Wesley up and tucks him under his arm, carrying him like they're playing the 'airplane' game. When they reach the ocean, Beck sets our son down and lets him explore for a bit, before putting his life vest on and allowing him to join Sophie, Violet, Aaron, Jonah and Olivia, who had already been down there playing under Trevor's supervision.

Today is family beach day. It happens at least once a month, depending on everyone's work and school schedules. We always go to a private beach, so that there's no fans trying to mob any of us, and usually paparazzi don't think to look for us here. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Beck's security team is circling the area, Ruby's too.

"He's such a handful..." I sigh, watching Wesley splash through the water "Girls are so much easier when they're little than boys are."

"Try having two the same age..." Ruby chuckles "Apparently when they're teenagers though, boys are easier."

"I believe that..." I admit, picking up the water bottle sitting next to me and taking a sip "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine, so far." Ruby shrugs "I dunno, I don't think is has really set in yet that I'm pregnant again."

"Have you been to the doctor yet?" I ask

"No."

"That's probably why it hasn't set in yet." I set my water bottle down and lay back on my beach towel as well "It doesn't feel real until you're holding the sonogram picture."

"I guess..."

"Is Trevor still bouncing off the walls from excitement?"

"Yeah." She smiles "He lives for those three hours a day when the kids go to school, because that's the only time I'll let him talk about it. That, and after they go to bed. He's already talking about names, and 'when are we going to start decorating the nursery?', it's actually kind of hot."

"Oh great, you're one of the ones that gets super horny once you're knocked up." I tease her

"Oh shut up." She rolls her eyes

"When are you going to announce it?"

"Oh we haven't even talked about that..." She admits "Probably when people start asking questions. Or when we tell the kids, since they suck at keeping secrets when paps corner them."

Why someone would stoop so low as to corner a five year old child with questions about their parents while they're out _with_ their parents, is something that will never make sense to me. The paparazzi do it to my kids, they do it to Ruby's...it's disgusting. If you _absolutely _have to harass someone, harass me. Not my kid.

"Well, they're five. You can't really blame them."

"I know." She sighs "I know."

* * *

"Please! Please!" I have four young children and a teenager on their knees at my feet, begging to go night swimming in our pool "Please! Please! Please!"

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow at them "You just spent literally _all_ day at the beach? And now you want to go night swimming too?"

"Yes!" Violet exclaims, hugging my legs "Please, Mommy, please?"

"Daddy and Uncle Trevor were just getting ready to start a bonfire..." I tell them

"But think about how quickly they're going to fall asleep tonight..." Trevor whispers as he walks by me with a plate of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers for s'mores.

He has a point, nothing makes me happier than children who go to bed without any difficulty.

"Alright, I suppose." I sigh, knowing I've lost this fight

"Yay!" Sophie, Violet, Aaron, Jonah, and Olivia all exclaim, running away from me and towards the door that leads to the backyard

"What's got them all excited?" Ruby asks, entering the living room carrying Wesley, who she just changed into a fresh diaper and pajamas

"I just agreed to night swimming, sorry if you weren't okay with it." I tell her

"No it's fine." She laughs "They'll probably pass out in the car before we're even out of your neighborhood."

"Exactly."

"Mama!" Wesley holds his arms out and leans towards me

"Hi Wes." I smile, taking him into my arms "Look at those pajamas! 'My Auntie Is The Best'...wonder who picked those out..."

"It twas moi!" Ruby smirks, sliding her flip flops on and starting for the door

"Yeah well, joke's on you!" I chuckle "Because I'm pretty sure Cat was the one who sent him these!"


	51. Chapter 51

_Ruby's POV_

"See any paps?" I ask Trevor, looking out the car window

"Nope..." He tells me, looking out his own window "I think we're clear."

"Thank god..." I sigh, opening the passenger door and stepping out into the parking lot

Trevor climbs out as well and slams his door closed, walking to meet me at the front of the car. We grab each other's hands and start walking towards the building.

Today is my doctor's appointment to confirm that I actually _am_ pregnant, and to make sure everything is okay with the baby. The triplets are at school for the afternoon, so we don't have to worry about them.

My doctor's office isn't the only one in it's building, so when we enter through the front doors, Trevor and I head straight for the elevators.

"Excited?" Trevor asks me, leaning forward and hitting the 'up' button.

"Yeah..." I laugh "Are you?"

"Ecstatic."

* * *

"Hello there, Mrs. Samuels." A nurse greets me, entering the examination room "Mr. Samuels."

"Please, just call us Ruby and Trevor." I request

"Yeah." Trevor agrees "Mr. and Mrs. just makes us feel old."

"Well you're going to be thirty in a few months..." I remind him

"Shut up! Don't talk about it and it won't happen!"

"Don't worry..." The nurse laughs, grabbing my file off the counter "Thirty isn't that bad. Now forty? That's what kills you."

"Well, I have a long time before I have to worry about turning forty." Trevor chuckles

"When we're forty, the triplets will be fifteen going on sixteen."

"Don't talk about it and it won't happen!"

I blinked and my little babies were five, something tells me forty is a lot closer than we think.

"Oh, okay, the Samuels triplets..." The nurse nods "I remember you now. Ended up with two and one, right?"

"Yup." I nod "Two boys and a girl."

"So rare that they occur naturally without any conceptive drugs, do multiples run in either of your families?"

"Mine." Trevor raises his hand "They fall every other generation. My dad was a twin, my brother had twins, and I got lucky and got the bonus baby."

"We are _very _lucky." I agree

"Yeah." He smiles, leaning down and kissing me

"Alright, let's get some of the basics out of the way before Doctor Fisher comes in, shall we?" The nurse says

"Sure."

We talk some more about the medical history of both our families, including the fact that I barely know anything about my biological father's side. She draws a sample of blood from my left arm so they can test it, then leaves us alone in the examination room so that she can take it to the lab. But she doesn't leave before letting us know that Doctor Fisher will be in shortly.

"I really hope it's a girl..." I admit, as soon as she exits the room

"What ever happened to the typical 'It doesn't matter to me as long as it's healthy' thing?" Trevor teases me

"I want Olivia to have a sister..." I tell him "Jade and I were so close, I want her to have a relationship like that with a sister of her own. Just...under different circumstances."

"You know I'd _never_ do that to our kids, Ruby."

"I know you wouldn't! I wasn't implying that you would..." I sigh "You're nothing like he was, you actually have a heart..."

"Aw babe..." He kisses my forehead

There's a knock at the door

"Come in!"

"Hi there!" Doctor Fisher smiles, entering the room "How is everybody today?"

"We're good." I tell her "You?"

"Fabulous, thank you." She smiles, walking over to the sink and washing her hands "And how about the little kiddos, how are they?"

"Not so little anymore." Trevor chuckles "They just started kindergarten a couple of weeks ago."

"Wow, time flies, huh?"

"Yeah." I nod "It sure does."

"Alrighty..." She turns on the ultrasound machine and sits down "Let's take a look at _this_ baby, shall we?"

"Yes, please." I smile

She picks up the wand and I roll up my shirt while she spreads ultrasound gel onto it. When it makes contact with my skin, it's freezing, and it catches me a little off guard.

"You okay?" Trevor asks, taking my hand

"Oh yeah," I assure him "I just forgot how cold it is is all."

I keep holding on to his hand is all.

As Doctor Fisher moves the wand around, a soft purring noise starts to fall out of the speakers.

"There's your heartbeat..." She tells us "If we can hear it, that means you're at least ten weeks."

I quickly do the math in my head and realize that would put my due date around mid to late March.

"March." Trevor says, obviously thinking the same thing I was "Good, we don't need anymore birthdays in May or June."

Jade and Sophie were both born in May, and I, along with my triplets, was born in June. Lots of early summer birthdays for the Oliver-Samuels bunch.

"Hmmm.." Doctor Fisher says, moving the wand around a bit

"What?" I ask "Is something wrong?"

"Not necessarily..." She tells me "The heartbeat is loud, so that means it's strong...but it doesn't sound quite right, and that could mean one of two things..."

I look at Trevor, scared that there could potentially be something wrong with our child.

"Well that's surprising..."

"What's surprising?" Trevor asks

Doctor Fisher scribbles something down in my chart, then turns the ultrasound screen towards us.

"There's your baby..." She points to a small dot on the screen with her pen "But, if we move this wand over a bit...there's it's twin."

"T-twin...?"

"Twin."

"As in two?" Trevor holds up two fingers

"Yes, that's correct." The doctor laughs "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Samuels, it looks like you're about eleven weeks with a set of perfectly healthy twins."


	52. Chapter 52

_Ruby's POV_

"We _did_ know that multiples run in my family..." Trevor sighs

"Yes, but do you know what the odds are of having _two _sets of multiples?" I ask him

"No...I don't."

"Five percent!" I exclaim, shoving my phone in his face to show him the internet search I had done

"Okay, you need to calm down..." He pushes my hand away "Stress is bad for pregnant women."

"I know that, I've been pregnant before!" I sit down on the couch "Trevor, we're going to have five kids under the age of six...we're practically a reality TV show! And I'm sure once the media gets ahold of this, we're going to be getting offers!"

"Hey..." Trevor sits down next to me and starts rubbing my back gently "We didn't think we were going to be able to handle triplets, remember? And now we have three, happy, healthy, kids we wouldn't trade for the world. And we're lucky enough to be getting two more..."

"We didn't already have kids when we had the triplets though..." I remind him

"Well yes, that's true. But our kids are old enough now that they're going to be interested in the new babies. They're going to _want_ to help us take care of them. Babe, I know it's not really what we had in mind, but we're going to be okay...I promise."

I stare down at my hands for a moment before looking back up at my husband.

"Did you like, take a class or something? Or are you just naturally good at comforting people?" I manage to smile

He laughs, and wraps an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him and pressing a kiss to my temple.

"I love you..." I whisper

"I know." He chuckles "I love you too."

"I know."

* * *

"It's twins."

I swear to god, the news almost kills my sister. Not because it's horrifying to her in any way, but because she almost chokes on the water she had just taken a sip of.

"Twins?" She looks at me "As in like, two?"

"Yeah..."

"Holy..." Jade can't even finish her sentence

"I know..."

"This is your second set of multiples!"

"I know..."

"You're not even the least bit concerned?" She raises an eyebrow at me

"No, I am." I assure her "I just had my major freak out moment on the way home from the doctors office."

"Well...how far along are you?"

"Eleven weeks..." I sigh "They're due March 10th, but that's if they're full term. And multiples almost never make it full term."

"And they're healthy?"

"Yup."

"Well then you should be counting your blessings..."

"We are." I nod "It's just...a lot to process...the idea of having five kids under the age of six."

"Yeah, for like a month until the triplets actually _turn_ six."

"You know what I mean." I roll my eyes "We're going to have a lot of _young _kids."

"Well...at least your odds of having another girl just went up?" She shrugs

"I guess..."

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" Olivia runs into Beck and Jade's kitchen, arms extended

"Olivia, Olivia Olivia!" I laugh, picking her up and setting her on the island "What's up, baby?"

"I hit my head..." She frowns

"Aw, Liv..." I sigh "Here, let me look...do you feel dizzy?"

"No..." She shakes her head

"Does my face look funny at all?"

"No..."

"Then I think you're going to be just fine!" I press a kiss to her forehead

"You want an ice pack, Livy?" Jade asks, walking over towards the refrigerator and opening the freezer

"Yes please."

"Such good manners." Jade smiles

"She knows the rules..." I laugh, smoothing my daughter's hair back "If you don't say please and thank you, then Mommy and Daddy automatically won't consider getting you what you're asking for. Right, Liv?"

"Right..." Livy nods "Manners are important."

"You sound just like your mother, Olivia Jade." My sister chuckles, handing her the ice pack "Hey, what were you doing when you hit your head?"

"Um..." Livy hesitates, avoiding eye contact

"Olivia..."

"You and Vi weren't playing in the cabinets in the bathroom again, were you?" Jade asks

"I'm sorry Aunt Jade..."

That's one thing about Olivia, she can't lie, she'll feel too guilty about it. Trevor and I are hoping it's a trait that sticks with her through her teenage years

"I think you learned your lesson this time..." Jade sighs, standing up and walking into the living room "VIOLET KAITLIN! DOWNSTAIRS NOW, PLEASE!"

"Did Aunt Jade tell you and Vi not to play in the cabinets anymore?" I ask my daughter

"Yeah..." Olivia frowns, looking down

"Olivia..." I sigh "You know when someone asks you not to do something, you're supposed to listen, right?"

What's so amusing about playing in a cabinet anyways?

"I know, Mommy. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I guess." I say, the tone in my voice letting her know I'm disappointed "But you don't get to watch cartoons after dinner tonight. You can play in your room until bath time and after that you'll go straight to bed."

"Okay..."


	53. Chapter 53

_Ruby's POV_

"Alright kiddos, bedtime." I say to my three children, who are all currently glued to the television

"Mom..."They groan

"Come on..." I laugh, shaking my head "We own this movie, you know how it ends."

It's true, we own almost every Disney movie you can think of on Blu-Ray.

"But-"

"1..." I start counting, they know this as a warning "2...don't make me get to three..."

Aaron, Jonah, and Olivia all sprig to their feet and begin making their way towards me. They know better than to let Mommy or Daddy get to three.

"Mommy..." Jonah stops in front of me

"Yeah?"

"I'm not even tired..." He yawns

"That big yawn you just gave me tells me otherwise." I laugh "You have school tomorrow, remember? You don't want to be too tired to go to school, do you?"

"No..." He sighs

"Come on." I offer my hand to him "Let's get you to bed."

"Can you carry me?" He asks, rubbing his eyes

"No, you're a big boy. You can walk."

"Okay, fine..."

He takes my hand and together the two of us walk out of the living room, and upstairs to the main hallway that leads to their bedrooms.

"Go on and get yourself into bed." I kiss the top of his head "Daddy and I will be there in a few minutes."

"Okay, Mommy."

I watch Jonah to make sure he makes it to the room he shares with Aaron, and doesn't make a run for the playroom or something like that. Once I'm sure that he's made it, I turn and head towards Olivia's room, where Trevor is already tucking her in.

"Gotta make sure the blanket is covering you all the way..." I hear him say "Wouldn't want your feet to get cold!"

"But Daddy..." Olivia giggles "It's hot outside!"

"Well it cools off at night, you know." He tells her "And just because it's hot _outside_ doesn't mean you can't get cold when you're _inside_."

"What are you up to, goofballs?" I laugh

"Just makin' sure that Miss Olivia's feet aren't going to get cold!" He leans down and kisses our daughter's forehead "Goodnight, baby girl. I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Trevor stands upright and begins heading for her door, passing me on the way. He gives me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving to go and say goodnight to the boys.

"Nightie night, Olivia Jade." I smile, leaning down and kissing her as well "I love you."

"I love you too, Mommy." She tells me "I'll see you in the morning."

I turn off the lamp next to her bed and switch her nightlight on, exiting the room to follow my husband. Once we've said goodnight to Aaron and Jonah, we make ur way to our own bedroom. Trevor immediately flops down on the bed, while I head for my closet to find a pair of pajamas.

I pick a pair of shorts and a tank top and change into them, carrying my dirty clothes with me back into the bedroom and tossing them in the hamper.

"Damn." Trevor smiles

"What?"

"You look great."

"Yeah, well let's see if you still think that after I take all of this make up off." I laugh, walking into the bathroom

When I return, Trevor has changed into his pajamas as well, and by 'pajamas' I mean a pair of Adidas basketball shorts and an old t-shirt.

"Still beautiful." He smirks

"Shut up..." I shake my head, approaching the bed

"It's true." He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into bed on top of him "You always look gorgeous, no matter what. That's why I married you."

"That's the only reason?" I raise an eyebrow at him

"No." He assures me, pressing a kiss to my temple "There's a long list of other reasons too."

"Okay." I smile, rolling off of him and onto my side of the bed "Just checking."

"So guess what I found in one of the boxes of old baby stuff?"

"Why were you looking through the old boxes of baby stuff?" I ask him

"I was just trying to get an idea of what we have leftover." He tells me "Guess what I found?"

"What did you find?" I sigh

He leans over and grabs something off of his nightstand.

"Our notebook!"

"Give me that!" I snatch it out of his hand

It's a six by four yellow notebook that we used to keep in the kitchen. Whenever one of us came up with a baby name that we liked, any name at all, we wrote it down in here. Then, when I got to be about five months pregnant, we started reading through them and discussing which ones we liked best. There has to be at least a hundred names in here, filling up dozens of pages. However, if you flip through you'll find that 'Aaron', 'Jonah', 'Trevor', 'Thomas', 'Olivia', and 'Jade' are all starred and circled.

"Oh my gosh..." I gasp, flipping through the pages "I almost forgot about the notebook of names..."

"I thought it might come in handy in the next few months..." Trevor shrugs "And we can always add to it."

I stop on one of the pages of boys names, reading through all of the names that were lost in time to us...like William and Joshua and Liam and Jace and Hunter and Austin for boys. Or Charlotte and Ava and Natalie and Melody and Margret and Gracie that can be found on the list of girl's names a few pages further in.

"Well, I think you thought correctly." I lean over and peck his lips quickly

Trevor leans over and pulls my top up a little bit, smiling.

"What?"

"You're showing just a little bit." He grins "Hey there babies, Daddy here. How's it going in there?"

"You're such a goon..."I laugh as he presses an ear to my stomach, pretending to listen

"They say they're good." He tells me "I love you, babies. We can't wait to meet you."

"Weirdo." I roll my eyes

"I might be a weirdo..." He sits up and presses a kiss to my lips "But I'm _your_ weirdo."

"Yeah..." I chuckle "I guess I'm pretty lucky."


	54. Chapter 54

_Ruby's POV_

"Psst..." Trevor whispers "Rube?"

"What do you want?" I yawn, opening my eyes slightly "Are the kids awake?"

"No, not yet." He tells me "I'm going into the studio with Mitch to do some writing today, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." I sigh "I remember. Why'd you wake me up?"

"I just wanted to say goodbye." He kisses me softly "I'll be home sometime this afternoon. Okay?"

"Kay..." I close my eyes again, wanting desperately to go back to sleep

Being pregnant takes a lot out of you, especially when you're looking after three five year-olds too.

"I love you..." I tell him

"I love you too, babe..." He says "I'll see you later."

* * *

"Where's Daddy?" Olivia asks me

She's sitting at the island in our kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas, watching me closely as I maneuver around the room, trying to get three orders of toaster waffles ready for her and her brothers.

"He went to work." I tell her "He should be back by the time you get home from school today."

"But Daddy never goes to work without you."

"Yes he does, you just don't realize it sometimes." I laugh "He went to work with Uncle Mitch today."

"What are they doing?" She asks

So many questions.

"Well, Daddy is going to play his guitar, and Uncle Mitch is going to play his piano, and they're going to write a song." I shrug "Or maybe even a couple songs, it depends."

"Are you going to sing the songs?"

"Probably..." I chuckle "But sometimes they write songs for other people too."

"Mommy, what does it mean when you're famous?"

I stop to think for a moment. None of my children have ever asked me something like that, and I'm not sure how to explain it so simply that she'll know what it means.

"Um..." I hesitate "It means...it means that a lot of people know who you are, and know what you do."

"Are you famous Mommy?"

"Yeah..." I tell her "So is Daddy. And so are Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck."

And so are Aaron, Jonah, Olivia, Violet, Wesley, and Sophie. They're famous by association, although Sophie is really the only one out of all of them who can even begin to grasp that concept and understand it to it's entirety.

"Why?"

"Well, lots of people know who Uncle Beck is because he's in a lot of movies, and sometimes he's on TV. Lots of people know about Aunt Jade because she writes movies and plays and stuff like that, and also because she's married to Uncle Beck." I try my best to explain "I'm famous because I sing and make music, remember going to my concerts last year?"

"Kind of." Olivia shrugs "But I remember you singing lots. I like it when you sing."

"That's good, because I love singing. Almost as much as I love you, and your brothers, and Daddy." I chuckle "And Daddy is famous because he plays guitar while I sing, and he's really, _really_ good at it. And he writes really great songs too."

"Can you play guitar?"

"I can." I nod, pulling the waffles out of the toaster "And piano. Daddy can play the piano too, and the drums. He's _way_ better at it than I am though. AARON, JONAH! TIME FOR BREAKFAST!"

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" Jonah comes running into the room

"Jonah, Jonah, Jonah!" I laugh "What's up, buddy?"

"Aaron is being bad!" He tells me, pointing down the hallway

"Is he really, Jonah?" I raise an eyebrow at him "Or are you just trying to get him in trouble?"

"He really is!"

"Alright." I sigh "Sit in your chair, please."

Having three children that are all the same age, comes with it's challenges. One of those challenges is dealing with three little tattle-tales, but I guess that's a challenge of having more than one child in general. They're always competing to be your favorite, wanting the other ones to get in trouble. Trevor and I have the biggest issue between our two boys, but we're working on correcting the behavior.

"Aaron?" I call into the playroom from down the hall "Whatcha up to, bud?"

"Nothing!" He responds quickly

Quick enough to lead me to believe he's up to something.

"Mhm, sure..." I mutter to myself

When I enter the playroom, Aaron is piling toys up in the corner.

"Aaron, you know those don't go there." I remind him

"Oh..." He turns to look at them "They don't?"

"No, they don't." I sigh, walking over to the pile and starting to remove them so we can put them back where they belong

"No! Mom! Just leave them-"

"Aaron Trevor!" I gasp "What did you do?"

The wall in the corner of the room, specifically the lower half near the molding, is covered in doodle marks. It's clear they were made with marker, something my kids aren't supposed to use unless they're sitting at the kitchen table, preferably under my or Trevor's watch.

"I'm sorry Mommy!" Aaron exclaims "I didn't mean to?"

"So you're trying to tell me that you _accidentally _drew a picture of a dinosaur on the wall?" I ask him

"Yeah..."

"I find that very hard to believe, Aaron." I shake my head "Daddy isn't going to be very happy when he sees this..."

"Don't tell Daddy!" He begs "Please, Mommy, please don't tell Daddy!"

Why boys are so afraid of disappointing their fathers, I'll never know. But I _do_ know that no child ever wants to disappoint their parents.

"I have to." I sigh "He's the one who's going to have to paint over it and make it look nice again."

"Why can't you do it?"

"Because I don't know how!" I lie

More like inhaling paint fumes would mean terrible things for his unborn siblings, but he doesn't need to know that _quite_ yet.

"After breakfast, you're going to stay in your room until lunchtime, do you understand?" I scold him

"Yes, Mommy..." He hangs his head "I'm sorry."

* * *

"And we're adding two more to the mess in six months!" I groan, resting my head in my hands "I swear to god, if I could be drinking right now, I would be!"

"Okay, considering our upbringing I think we can rule out alcoholism as a solution to our problems..." Jade reminds me, walking over to her refrigerator and opening it

As soon as I dropped the triplets off at school, I came straight over to Beck and Jade's house. I needed my sister.

"Right, I know." I nod "I'd never do that to my kids. It's just sometimes...uhg they drive me crazy!"

"Believe me, I know." She chuckles "And since you're pregnant and you can't have real booze, you can have this."

She slides an apple juice box across the counter to me.

"Thanks." I roll my eyes, ripping the straw off the package and poking it through the top

"You're gonna be fine." She assures me "Little kids are rough, but you'll get through it. Enjoy it while they're little because it doesn't-"

"Doesn't last." I finish for her "I don't know how we're gonna do it Jade, I really don't."

"You've already successfully made it through triplets." She reminds me "Twins will be a piece of cake."


	55. Chapter 55

_Jade's POV_

"_Up next on TMZ_..."

"Why the hell do you watch this shit?" Beck sighs, flopping down on the couch next to me

It's late, or at least late in the eyes of a mother of three, almost ten o'clock. Wesley and Violet have been in bed for about an hour and a half, undoubtedly already fast asleep. Sophie may or may not be in bed, it's a school night, but she hasn't come down to say goodnight to Beck or me yet.

"Uh, rumor patrol." I tell him, ducking so he can snake his arm around my shoulders "Duh."

"Really?" He laughs

"Yes. Do you really want these people spreading rumors that we're having affairs or something? Or doing drugs? Or got arrested?"

"No..." He chuckles "I don't. But they're going to say it whether it's true or not. They don't care about our feelings, they only care about getting a reaction out of the general public."

Well, he's not wrong...

"Well yeah, I know that..." I shrug "But at least this way we find out about it sooner rather than later, and we can start on damage control as soon as possible."

"Whatever you say, Jade."

"Mom? Dad?" Sophie yells from the top of the stairs "I'm going to bed!"

"Goodnight!" I call back "I love you! See you in the morning!"

"G'nite kid!" Beck yells "Mom and I won't be too far behind you!"

"Love you too!"

"When did she get old enough to stay up almost as late as we do?" I sigh

"When we blinked."

I nuzzle my head into Beck's shoulder, finally finding a comfortable position to rest as the two of us sit and watch TV. Beck is right, this show really is ridiculous, but like I said, I have my reasons.

_Could these two stars be dating? _

_Are these two getting a divorce? _

_Did she get Botox? _

_Is he on steroids?_

"Is Ruby Samuels _pregnant_ again?"

"Huh?" I snatch the remote off the couch next to me and turn the volume up

"That's not exactly a rumor, babe..." Beck reminds me "It's true."

"It's a rumor until her and Trevor either deny, or in this case, confirm it." I say "Now shut up! I'm trying to listen!"

"Sorry, sorry..."

The annoying 'reporter' on the screen goes on to talk about a picture that some paparazzi got of Ruby when she was out walking around downtown with Trevor last week. Could this be the early signs of a baby bump? Or is she just starting to let herself go because she's not on tour and exercising vigorously every day?

"Aw fuck..." I mutter, turning my head into Beck's shoulder "She's not going to be happy about this?"

"Are you going to be the barer of bad news?" Beck asks me "Or are you going to sit this one out and let her find out when people start tweeting her about it in the morning?"

"You know I have to tell her..." I sigh, picking up my phone "She'd much rather find out from me than some random BuzzFeed article one of her fans tweets her."

I am watching this show for the purpose of rumor patrol, after all. And what kind of big sister would I be if I didn't look out for Ruby?

Not a good one, that's for sure.

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"What?" I sigh, staring at the text from Jade that just lit up my cell phone

"Something wrong?" Trevor raises an eyebrow at me as I slide my finger across the screen to unlock the phone and respond

"It depends on your definition of 'wrong'..." I tell him "Fucking TMZ..."

"Uh oh..." He frowns, closing the book he had been reading and setting it on his bedside table "Which one of us is it?"

"Me..." I show him the text "And you, I guess..."

"Well, we knew this would happen..."

He's right, I'm one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now, we're constantly under the media's eye. Even the smallest thing changes, and they catch up on it. They'll put a story out, whether they have confirmation or not. My pregnancy is going to get harder and harder to hide as time progresses forward, especially because we're having twins.

"So we have two options..." I sigh "We deny it, and we lie. Or we come out and confirm it way before we wanted to."

"Or we say nothing and just continue on with the original plan." Trevor suggests "Three options."

The original plan was to make some sort of announcement on social media after we told the triplets, that way our own children would hear it from _us_ first, and not some kid at school, or a paparazzi yelling at them while they're out with one of us. We were going to tell them when we found out the genders, so we wouldn't have to deal with god-knows how many weeks of 'Are they boy babies or girl babies?' that would almost immediately be followed by 'What do you mean you don't know?'. But this kind of puts a damper on all of that...

"We can't go with the 'no comment' thing..." I shake my head "That's just screaming that something is up..."

"Well, we really shouldn't lie..."

"I know that. But we can't tell the truth either."

"I don't think we're going to have any other choice..."

He's right. I know as soon as we wake up tomorrow, representatives from Andre's office are going to be calling me, demanding answers to all of the phone calls their going to be getting from magazines who are going to want answers of their own.

"So we have to tell the kids..." I sigh

"I guess we do." Trevor shrugs "And then we have to come up with a clever announcement."

"Fucking paps..." I groan, shoving my face into my pillow


	56. Chapter 56

_Ruby's POV_

"What if they don't take it well?" I ask Trevor "What if they hate us?"

"They'll get over it." Trevor assures me, taking my hand in his "I promise you, it's going to be fine."

Despite having three kids, I've never had to do this before. Sure, I told them when Jade was pregnant with Wesley, and they seemed pretty excited then. But they were younger, and they didn't fully understand what they were getting excited about. And then it was Aunt Jade that was having the baby, not Mommy. That new baby wasn't going to completely turn their lives upside down when it arrived, it wouldn't be living in the same house as them, or keeping their parents up at night. I honestly have no idea how this is going to go.

"AARON, JONAH, OLIVIA!" I yell from the living room, up to my children who are playing upstairs "CAN YOU COME DOWNSTAIRS PLEASE?"

I hear jostling around from the floor above us and one by one, our children start to appear in the living room

"Is it time for dinner?" Aaron, the first to arrive, asks us

"No, not quite yet Buddy." Trevor nods towards the couch "Go ahead and sit down."

"Are we in trouble?" He looks up and Trevor and I "I promise, I didn't color on anymore walls!"

"No, you're not in trouble." Trevor laughs, ruffling his hair "Mom and I just want to talk to you."

"Okay..."

Eventually, Olivia and Jonah arrive as well, and join their brother on the couch. Trevor and I sit down on the ottoman in front of them. Close, but not too close.

"So, Mommy and I..." Trevor wraps an arm around me "We have a surprise for you..."

"A doggie?" Olivia's eyes light up

And now I feel absolutely terrible, because they've been asking for a dog for almost a year now. Trevor and I have always said 'no', because we knew there was a possibility of _this_ happening soon.

"No..." I chuckle "Not exactly..."

I can't believe this. I'm about to tell the three perfect children that I already have, that I'm going to have two more soon with the most wonderful man I've ever met. It's entirely too surreal for me to grasp, almost. Especially because at so many points in my life, I didn't think I was going to make it this far.

_By the looks of the Sun…. it's probably 11:30 or close to noon by now. I've been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past 15 hours or so, and I'm no doctor, but I know that's not good._

_I shouldn't be alive. How is this possible? IS this possible? I don't even know anymore._

_I've been trying to scream for help, but I can't. My voice is so hoarse from dehydration._

_I had considered trying to get up and walk to the closest ranger station or something, but I can't I'm too weak and I have too many injuries._

_I'll give Dad the props, this is defiantly a place people won't think to look for me. I'll probably starve to death out here, or dehydrate, or get eaten by a bear or something._

_Are there bears in California?_

_I'll never see Beck or Jade again, or Sophie, adorable little Sophie, or Trevor, as amazing as he is._

_A tear slips down my cheek, just at the thought._

"Uh, Mommy?" Trevor nudges me

"Huh?" I try to shake the tragic memory my father unfortunately cemented in my brain permanently "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"That all three of them are really fantastic kids, and we couldn't have asked for better little munchkins..."

"Right." I nod "And we think you guys are _so _great, we thought that you'd make a fantastic big sister and brothers..."

All three kids look extremely confused, looking at Trevor and I like we just told them we were going to live on an alien planet.

"Um..." I hesitate "Do you remember, a few years ago, when Aunt Jade had a baby in her belly?"

"Yeah!" Jonah exclaims "Wesley!"

"That's right!" I smile "Cousin Wesley...how would the three of you feel if _I_ had a baby in my belly...?"

"Mommy!" Olivia smiles "Are you going to have a baby like Aunt Jade did?"

"Yeah." I tell her "Would you be okay with that?"

"Yeah!"

"What about you boys?" Trevor asks Jonah and Aaron "Would you two be okay with being big brothers?"

I honestly don't know why we're asking their opinion, it's not like there's really anything we could do about it if they decide they aren't excited about their younger siblings.

"Well..." Aaron looks at me questionably "Is it a boy? Or a girl?"

"We don't know yet." Trevor tells him "As soon as we do know, though, you guys will be the first ones to know."

Aaron turns to his brother and the two of them exchange a glance for a brief second.

"Okay." They shrug

I find myself letting out a sigh of relief I didn't even notice I had been holding in as my three children stand up and begin jumping on the couch, bouncing around with excitement. Trevor leans over and presses a kiss to my temple, obviously relieved as well.

"Wait, wait, wait!" I almost have to yell over the shrieks of laughter "There's one more thing?"

"What?"

"There's two babies." Trevor says "Mommy has twins in there!"

The string of typical questions you'd get from any little kid follows.

_Are they both going to fit in there?_

_How did they get in there? Mommy, did you eat them?_

_When do we get to meet them?_

_Where are they going to sleep?_

All questions Trevor and I are more than happy to answer. We're still thankful there are no tears.

* * *

"That should shut everyone up..." I sigh, hitting the 'Tweet' button and publishing my latest message to the world

** RubyKaitlin: To address all of these crazy rumors that have been flying around the past few days...**

Attached is a picture of Aaron, Jonah and Olivia, all wearing matching shirts that either say "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" on them. Trevor and I stand off in the background, smiling at them from a distance. Together, the triplets hold up a sign that reads:

'Whether Pink or Blue, come March...Mommy's having two!'

Responses start to fly in immediately, blowing up my feed. Some are from fans, or other celebrities wishing us congratulations. But my favorite comes from JadeOliver_95

**Congratulations, Baby Sister and Brother-in-Law! Couldn't be more excited for all five of you!**


	57. Chapter 57

_Jade's POV_

"Here..." I sigh, draping the hanging garment bag over the back of one of the living room couch "Take it. Never bring it back."

"Thank you." Ruby smiles

You see, inside that hanging garment bag is the most obnoxious, bubblegum pink, prom dress I have ever seen in my entire life. It belonged to, or I guess still does belong to, my little sister.

When Ruby and Trevor got married, and she moved out, we moved Sophie into Ruby's old bedroom. It was bigger, and Sophie was absolutely in love, and still is, with the balcony attached to it that overlooks our backyard. Anything that Ruby didn't take with her got moved into one of the spare bedrooms. Over time, the boxes of Ruby's crap have started to disappear and make their way over to the Samuels's, but some of it is still here. Which brings us back to the obnoxious bubblegum prom dress.

When I first took her shopping, around the end of March of her senior year, I had tried to talk her out of buying it from the minute I saw her eyeing it. But Beck told her that she could have any dress she wanted, and Trevor told her that he didn't care what color it was, as long as she was happy with it. So we bought the obnoxiously pink dress. And of course, it didn't make the list of things she brought with her when she moved out, and has been sitting in Wesley's closet ever since. But since my son is growing, and his clothes are starting to take up more room, I told Ruby that the bubblegum monster had to go. It was either she came and got it, or I would throw it out. Obviously, she wanted to keep it.

"You took your damn teddy bear with you, but you felt the need to keep the prom dress in my house for the past eleven years?" I raise an eyebrow at her

"Do not disrespect BoBo Bear like that!" Ruby defends the well-loved stuffed animal "He got me through some rough times! And he has earned himself a well deserved place at my daughter's tea table, thank you very much!"

"He's still in one piece?"

"Barely."

"Well good for BoBo Bear..." I laugh, sitting down on the couch next to her "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad..." She shrugs "Triplets were worse."

"Well, there's one less baby now." I remind her "And you've gone through it once already before, so you sort of know what to expect."

"I'm praying for no bed rest this time." She crosses her fingers, holding them up for me to see "Trevor and I will more than likely both go insane if he has to take care of the kids all by himself twenty-four hours a day."

"They go to school..." I chuckle "That's like, three hours off for him."

"You know what I mean."

"I know." I wink "Are they moving around at all yet?"

"No." She shakes her head "Thank god."

"Aw come on, it's not so bad..."

"Says the one who has only ever been pregnant with one baby at a time..." She says flatly "And doesn't have three young kids who will have their hands all over her as soon as they find out the babies move because they're so desperate to investigate and feel for themselves."

"Alright, alright." I laugh "Fair enough."

Ruby leans her head back against the back of the couch and takes a deep breath, rubbing her face with her hands.

"There's at least one boy in there..." She tells me "I can feel it."

"Mom's usually have a pretty good idea..." I shrug "You could be right."

"Oh I hope it's not two..." She admits "I know that I'm not supposed to care as long as they come out happy and healthy. But I don't think I'll be able to handle _four_ little boys. And I know they'll just torment Olivia if she ends up sandwiched between two sets of brothers on each end. That little girl deserves a sister after five years of growing up in a house full of boys..."

She leans forward and rests her head in her hands.

"Everything will work out fine..." I reach out and rub her back "Two boys, two girls, one of each, it doesn't matter. As soon as they're here you won't be able to imagine what life would be like if they weren't."

"I know..."

She's quit for a while before she breaks the uncomfortable silence and speaks again.

"Talia wants me to go on her damn show..." She sighs

Ah Talia Shaffer. Or I guess she's technically Talia McCabe now. She's the same age as Ruby, and they were really good friends in high school. Very nice girl, just doesn't have the best luck, unfortunately. When she was nineteen, she married her high school sweetheart, who's name I believe was Matt. Ruby tried to be a good friend and talk them out of it, trying to make them see that they were too young. This started a minor tizzy between the two of them, Talia being angry because Beck and I were married, and Ruby had supported us, even though we had gotten married at an even younger age. Needless to say, Talia had won the battle, but ended up divorced less than two years later. Ruby told me it took everything she had to just bite her tongue and be supportive.

Now, two more marriages and a baby later, Talia is one of three co-hosts on a show called 'Chit-Chat', it's basically The View, just a different station at a different time.

"Is she still married?" I ask

"Yes...still to Greg."

"Good for her." I nod "I know it was rough going for a while there."

"I love her, honestly, but I don't know..."

"Oh just do it." I nudge her "You love doing stuff like that."

"Conversations we have in the privacy of our own homes are different than conversations we have on TV." She looks at me

"I meant going on TV in general."

"I don't know."

"Just think about it..."

"I will." She says, standing up "Thanks for letting me invade your home for a few minutes, big sister, but I've got to get going. There's three little kiddos at home who are probably driving their father crazy."

"Well, if you ever need a break, they're welcome to come drive their Aunt and Uncle crazy whenever you need them to."

"Thanks." She smirks "We might just take you up on that."

"Anytime." I assure her "Now get home to your family. And take this disgusting dress with you!"


	58. Chapter 58

_Ruby's POV_

"Thank you so much again for doing this." Talia thanks me, leaning up against the doorframe of my dressing room

"Sure." I shrug, putting the finishing touches on my eyeliner

"I've got to go, we're starting soon." She tells me "See you on air!"

"It's prerecorded..." I mumble to myself once I'm certain she's out of earshot

Talia is the kind of friend who only acts one hundred percent genuine when she needs something from you, or when it's beneficial to her to act that way. For example, she's acting like my bet friend right now because I agreed to be a guest on her talk show. Why did she even ask me in the first place? Because their ratings are falling, and having one of the biggest pop stars in the world could 'really help them out'.

Long story short, I'm too nice of a person to say no, and she guilted me into it.

I finish up the rest of my makeup, give my hair one last check, then stand up, checking my dress in the mirror.

It's pink, my favorite color. And it disguises my bump well enough.

I turn off the light in my dressing room and close the door behind me. As I start making my way towards the stage, I can her the audience already cheering, meaning they've started the show.

"Ruby!" A producer waves me down "We'll be ready for you in about ninety seconds!"

"Thank you." I nod, leaning against a wall and waiting for my entrance que

He comes over and checks to make sure the microphone clipped to my collar is working, then retreats back to his post.

I forgot how exhausting being pregnant can be, and it's even more exhausting when you have three five year-olds to take care of at the same time. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Trevor, or a school to send them to for three hours every afternoon.

"Ladies and Gentlemen..." I hear Talia say "Please welcome one of music's _biggest_ pop superstars, and a _very _good friend of mine, Miss Ruby Samuels!"

The audience claps as I make my way our from backstage and begin walking towards the couch that Talia and her two co-hosts, Mandy and Summer, are sitting on. All three of them stand up and hug me before we all sit down again, me taking my place in the middle between Talia and Summer.

"How are you?" Talia smiles

Even though we just talked backstage, I feel like she's required to ask me this.

"I'm great." I tell her "How are you guys?"

"We're great!"

"It's been a while since you've been here, Ruby." Summer reminds me "Let's just catch everyone up, you've released another album, which you released four singles off of, and all four of them went platinum. Your 'Knockout: The World Tour' had six legs and you sold out almost every venue...and on top of that you're married, raising triplets, and expecting two more. How on earth do you do it?"

"Honestly?" I chuckle "I have absolutely _no _idea. Um, I have a fabulous support system, my family, my husband, my kids, my _fans_. My fans are really the ones who make it all happen to be completely honest. If they hadn't been believing in me from the very beginning, and they hadn't continued to believe in me, it just wouldn't have worked. It really wouldn't have. So thank you guys, _merci mille fois_!"

I blow a kiss towards the camera and the audience begins to cheer once again.

"And she speaks French." Summer laughs, shaking her head "You never cease to surprise us."

"Well, the fact that I can speak French isn't really that big of a secret." I shrug "I studied it all four years in high school, and then my freshman and sophomore years in college. I just think it's such a _gorgeous_ language. And I love whenever we a have a tour stop in Paris because it's one of my most favorite cities in the world."

"That's where you went on your honeymoon, isn't it?" Talia asks me

"It was." I confirm "The city of lights."

"Speaking of marriage and such," Mandy steps in "How is the little family of yours?"

"We're good." I smile, resting a hand on my tiny baby bump "We're growing..."

"You barely look pregnant with one, let alone almost seventeen weeks with twins. I'm so majorly jealous of you."

"Oh thank you." I laugh "But, yeah. The family is good, Aaron, Jonah and Olivia started Kindergarten this year and they _love_ it. We never have to fight to get them out the door."

"Give it a couple years, that'll change."

"Oh I know it will."

"Are they excited about becoming a big sister and big brothers?"

"For the most part, we think so, yeah." I nod "They're very interested in the whole thing, um, Jonah asked me if I ate them...that was an interesting conversation. But yeah, it seems to be a positive reaction on al three fronts for now. I one hundred percent expect that to change when they get here, though."

"Which is in?"

"March."

"Do we know the genders yet?"

"No." I frown "Not yet. We'll hopefully find out the week after Thanksgiving."

"Let's keep on the topic of family here for a second." Talia turns to me "You're still very close with your sister, Jade, yes?"

"Absolutely." I nod "Next to my husband, Trevor, she's my best friend. We're extremely close."

"Your children are close?"

"Yeah." I smile "They adore each other. Vi and Olivia are almost inseparable, Aaron and Jonah have taken Wesley under their wing. It's adorable."

"And is it true that you've never used a Nanny?" Summer asks "Like, in all five years of being a parent?"

"Well..." I hesitate "Yes and no. At home, no we've never used a nanny. Trevor and I said from the beginning we wanted to raise our kids ourselves, we didn't want someone else doing it for us. My sister and brother operate under the same philosophy. We're just like a normal family, we raise our kids ourselves, we eat dinner together as a family almost every night, and if we need a baby sitter, we ask for help from Beck and Jade. However, when we're on tour, it's a little different because both Trevor and I are both on stage together every night. Um, so when we're doing shows, we have a nanny watch them, I guess. But it's actually one of my band member's wife watching them, so she's more of a family friend to us than she is a 'nanny'."

"That's impressive." Talia admits "Even I have a nanny and I only have one child."

"It's hard work, for sure." I agree "But I'm not missing out on a single minute of their lives, so it's worth it in the end."


	59. Chapter 59

_Ruby's POV_

"Go ahead, Jonah..." Trevor says "Just give it your best go!"

"It's not hard, Jonah!" Aaron encourages his brother "Just swing and hit!"

Jonah takes a deep breath, choking up on his plastic baseball bat. He lines up his swing and puts everything he has into knocking the plastic whiffle ball off of the plastic tee, that's only maybe five or six inches than he is.

The ball flies forward and Trevor jerks out of the way to avoid being hit by it. A smile spreads across my son's face as he throws the bat down and begins running towards his brother, who is waiting for him on 'first base', which is basically a cardboard square Trevor had cut out of an old box to use for this purpose.

It's a sunny Thursday afternoon, or I guess we're approaching night now. It's around 7:00, the weather is warm, but not annoyingly hot, the sun is just starting to set, painting a beautiful picture against the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills. We just finished dinner about an hour ago, and the kids had begged to go and play outside for a while until it was time to take their baths. Trevor is over in the grass, playing along with them, while I sit in a lawn chair near the pool, watching, and answering the occasional text from my sister, who is taking care of her own family.

"Good job!" Aaron offers a high-five

"Thanks!" Jonah smiles

"Okay now technically, Aaron, when Jonah hit the ball, you would run to second base over there." Trevor explains "Maybe even to third if he hit it far enough. And then you'd wait there until someone else hit the ball again and you could keep going. When you get back to the tee, which is home plate, that's called a run, and your team would get a point."

I smile at the exchange between my husband and our sons, how excited he is to be explaining his favorite sport to them. Sure, Trevor likes watching all sports on TV, even golf sometimes, but baseball has always been his favorite to play. When we were in high school, besides being a fabulous musician, he also played first base for the varsity team junior and senior year. He's been dying to start teaching the boys how to play, it was just a matter of getting the plastic tee out of the box and set up.

"Livy!" Trevor calls up to the top of the fort attached to the triplet's swing set "Are you _sure_ you don't want to play baseball with us?"

"I'm sure!" Olivia calls back to him "Baseball is a boys game!"

"Not technically..."

"I want to play up here!"

"Alright." He shrugs "That's fine."

"Can I try again, Daddy?" Aaron asks, pulling at Trevor's shirt "Please?"

"Of course. You both can!" Trevor grins, picking up the ball and starting to tee it back up "Very nice manners, by the way."

They set the ball back up again, and Aaron and Jonah begin taking turns hitting the whiffle ball as far as they possibly can.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Olivia makes her way down the slide attached to the swing set, and begins running over to me "I have a question!"

"What's your question?" I ask as she approaches me

"Do you..." She stops momentarily, thinking about her words carefully before continuing "Do the babies like music?"

"I'm sure they do." I laugh

I mean, both of their parents are musicians, and their siblings were raised in an environment where music of some sort is almost always present. It would only make sense for them to like music.

"Can I ask them?"

"Um..." I chuckle "You can, but they probably won't answer you."

Olivia shrugs, lowering her head so it's closer to my abdomen.

"Hi babies." She whispers "It's Olivia. Do you like music? Because I like music, and I think it'd be really cool if you did too."

She waits for a few seconds, listening like they might actually respond to her. When they don't she looks up at me, frowning.

"Sorry Liv." I kiss the top of her head "Do you want to sing them a song? I bet they'd like that."

"_Let it go, let it go_..." Livy begins singing "_Can't hold it back anymore_."

"_Let it go, let it go_..." I join in, lifting her up on my lap so she's facing me "_Turn away and slam the door! I don't care what they're going to say...Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway!_"

We both laugh and she rests her forehead against mine. Her hair and her eyes are mine, but her face is her father's.

My sweet little girl.

"Are you going to let the babies watch Frozen with you?" I ask her

"Yeah!" She grins "Oh but Mommy, what if they're boys? What if they don't like princess movies?"

"Your brothers watch Frozen with you." I remind her "Even if it is a princess movie, it's okay for them to watch too."

"But they don't like it as much as they like Cars." She frowns "When are we going to know if the babies are boys or girls?"

"Not until after Thanksgiving." I tell her

"When's that?"

"After we go and visit Aunt Serena and Uncle Derek."

"Oh...okay."

"Don't worry, Miss Olivia." I press a kiss to her cheek "It will be here before you know it!"

She sighs, leaning forward and resting her head against my shoulder.

"Oh!" I exclaim "Be careful, please, Olivia! You're squishing the babies!"

"Oh no!" Olivia shoots upright again "Did they kick you?"

"No." I tell her "But you still need to be careful, okay?"

"Okay." She nods "Why didn't they kick you? Aunt Jade said Wesley used to kick her all the time when he was in her tummy."

"They'll start kicking me eventually." I tell her "They're just not big enough to yet."

"Oh." Olivia yawns

"You getting tired?"

"No." She yawns again

"Come on, Livy." I laugh, lifting her off my lap and pushing myself out of the chair "Let's go inside and get your bath started before your brothers come in."

"Okay." Olivia nods, taking my hand and leading her head against my side


	60. Chapter 60

_Jade's POV_

"_You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going_." The dialogue plays from the TV

I'm not paying that close of attention to be one hundred percent honest, I'm scrolling through social media on my phone. Ruby picked this movie. It's a good one, I won't deny that. But it's one of my sister's favorites, and we've watched it together enough times I could quote it in my sleep if I really, really wanted to.

"_If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life_."

"We'll always have Paris..." Ruby whispers, clutching a pillow to her chest

"Ruby." I sigh

"What?" She looks over at me, her eyes wet with tears

"Why the hell are you crying?" I laugh

"Because they were supposed to run away together and live happily ever after!" She exclaims "But Rick just _had _to be a good person and do the right thing!"

"You've seen this movie a million times." I remind her "You knew how it was going to end."

"Well I'm pregnant and hormonal!" She defends herself "It's not my fault!"

"_Here's looking at you kid_."

Ruby absolutely loses it and begins sobbing into the pillow, clutching it closer to her chest.

Sophie is over at a friend's house, Olivia and Violet are upstairs paying, and Beck, Trevor, Wesley, Aaron, and Jonah are outside playing in the backyard. Ruby and I had originally been alternating between looking at baby stuff online and answering tweets from her fans...and somehow she turned into her talking me into watching Casablanca.

"Oh my god." I sigh, standing up and grabbing her hand "Let's go."

I pull her off the couch and lead her from the living room into the kitchen.

"Chocolate or vanilla?" I ask, opening the freezer

"What?" Ruby sits down at the island

"Ice cream, genius." I roll my eyes

"Oh..." She smirks "Chocolate."

I remove the pint of ice cream from the freezer and slide it across the countertop to her. I walk over and open a drawer, pulling out two spoons, then take a seat in the stool next to her.

"Thank you." She takes a spoon from me and we begin eating

"Just don't tell my children." I laugh "Or yours. They'll kill me."

"The secret is safe with me." She promises

"So have you started talking about names at all yet?" I ask her

"We've discussed it briefly..." She shrugs "We have two middle names picked out for each gender, but we haven't really given much thought to first names yet."

"Care to share?"

"Not yet." She smiles, taking a bite of ice cream

"Ruby Kaitlin!" I exclaim "Tell me!"

"When the time is right, I will." She chuckles "But seriously, they could change, I just want to be one hundred percent cert-"

I hear the sliding glass door that opens into the backyard slide open, and a child's cries fill my house almost instantly. Sophie isn't home, Violet is upstairs, so that leaves only Wesley as a possibility for the source, but I don't recognize the cry as his.

Yes, mother's can identify their child's cry.

"Rube?" Trevor calls

"It's Aaron." Ruby sighs, sticking her spoon in the ice cream and standing up "We're in the kitchen!"

Sure enough, a few seconds later my little brother-in-law enters the kitchen, carrying my crying nephew in his arms. Aaron's face is bright red and splotchy from crying, his arms are wrapped around his father's neck, and he sounds like he's trying to call for 'Mommy', but he chokes on his sob before he can make it to the second syllable. After closer inspection, I see that there's blood running down his leg too.

"What happened?" Ruby exclaims, eyes growing wide

"He was running on the deck and tripped and fell." Trevor explains, setting the little boy down on the kitchen counter "Skinned his knee up pretty good."

"M-m-mom-my." Aaron looks up at Ruby

"It's okay, bud." She brushes his hair back away from his face and kisses the tip of his nose "We'll getcha cleaned up, okay?"

"You know, Aaron." I say "I think I have some Cars Band-Aids in the cabinet, do you want me to check?"

"Y-y-yes, please." He stammers

"Okay." I rub his shoulder before turning away

I walk over to the large cabinet in the corner of the kitchen where we keep a few boxes of bandages for occasions just like this. I pull out the box of solid multicolored ones, as well of the box of Cars, figuring I'll let him pick.

"Where's Jonah?" I hear Ruby ask

"He's still outside with Beck and Wes."

When I rejoin them again, I see that Ruby has taken a paper towel and wiped away most of the blood that had run all over Aaron's leg, but that the cut itself is still bleeding.

"Neosporin?" I ask, setting the boxes of Band-Aids down next to Aaron

"Please." Ruby sighs "It's okay, Aaron. I need you to sit still."

I return to the cabinet and grab the bottle of Neosporin. Ruby thanks me when I hand it to her, and uncaps it, preparing to spray it on the cut.

"This is probably going to sting a little bit, okay?" Ruby says "Aaron? Did you hear me?"

Aaron bites his lip and nods, still shaking and hiccupping from the meltdown he had just had.

As soon as the medicine hits his skin, Aaron lets out a scream so high and so loud, if you didn't know what was going on, you might think he was being murdered. Ruby and Trevor both close their eyes, taking a deep breath.

Eventually, Ruby gets the cut cleaned off and sticks two Lightning McQueen bandages over it. It takes a few minutes for Aaron to calm down, but once he realizes that he's not bleeding anymore _and_ that he has cool Band-Aids, he appears to be just fine.

"You want to come back outside with me, buddy?" Trevor squats down so they're eye-to eye

Aaron shakes his head, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Ruby's neck.

"Oh!" She exclaims, obviously surprised "Aaron, I need a heads up before you do that, please!"

"Here." I step in for her "I've got him."

"Thanks." She smiles at me, then turns to her husband "We've got him, go ahead back outside."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay." Trevor shrugs, leaning over and kissing my sister's cheek before disappearing back to the backyard

"You good, Aaron?" Ruby asks

Aaron nods, resting his head against my shoulder.

"Okay." She smirks, kissing his cheek "You want to share some ice cream with Aunt Jade and me?"

"Yeah!" The little boy suddenly perks up

It's amazing the amount of things ice cream can cure.


	61. Chapter 61

_Jade's POV_

"Vi?" I call out "Wesley? Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

While I'm happy that my two youngest children are close enough that they consider each other to be playmates, it can be a curse almost as much as it's a blessing. For example, Violet _knows_ that naptime immediately follows lunchtime every day. And if she's not in the mood for a nap, which she rarely is, she'll hide from me. Wesley, being younger than her and twice as curious, will follow sometimes, and I have to spend an extra twenty minutes searching for my children.

"I'm going to kill Aunt Ruby for teaching you this game..." I mutter to myself, moving from room to room looking for them

Aunt Ruby taught them the game, but they perfected it themselves. I can't hear a single giggle, I don't see a single curtain or piece of furniture shift at all.

Violet and Wesley Oliver are expert hide-and-seekers.

"Don't make me start counting, children." I say "I'm serious, I'll take away your dessert tonight."

I stop for a second, looking and listening for anything that might give them away.

Nothing.

"You little brats." I sigh, turning and walking out of the living room

I head up to the second floor, and decide to check the bedrooms first.

"She's coming Wesley!" I hear a little voice whisper "Stop moving."

_Busted._

It came from either Sophie or Violet's room at the end of the hallway, so I start walking that way. I move as quietly as possible in hopes of sneaking up on them and taking them by surprise.

Peeking into Violet's room, I see that her closet is wide open, and there's no lumps under the blankets on her bed. They're not in here, so they must be in Sophie' s room, somewhere they know they're not supposed to go. Not only is it their sister's room, and they should respect her privacy, even when she's not home, but there's also doors leading out to a balcony.

"Gig's up, kids." I say, entering the bedroom "Come on out."

There's no answer, and the floor is dead silent.

"Wesley!" I exclaim "Wanna watch Bob the Builder?"

"Yeah!" Wesley exclaims, bursting out of Sophie's closet

One point for Mom.

"Wesley!" Violet groans "You made us lose!"

"Violet Kaitlin." I sigh, bending down and picking Wesley up "You know you're not supposed to come in Sophie's room."

"It was Wesley's idea!" She tries to defend herself

"Well Wesley isn't even two yet." I remind her "He doesn't know any better. You're supposed to be the big sister and set a good example."

"Sorry." She frowns, looking down

"Yeah yeah..." I sigh, extending a hand to her "Come on, it's naptime."

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"What would you think about Shawn for a boy's name?" Trevor asks, talking to me from inside his closet

"Shawn Samuels?" I clarify

"Yeah."

"Eh..." I shrug "I'm not a huge fan of two 'S' names, to be completely honest with you."

"The middle name would break it up." Trevor says, walking out of the closet with a stack of shirts and setting them on the bed

"I'm still not crazy about it." I admit "We could put it on the 'maybe' list, if you want."

"I'll take the 'maybe' list." He smiles, leaning down and kissing me quickly before walking over to the dresser

We're leaving for Boston in a few days to spend Thanksgiving with his parents and brother, and finding time to pack is next to impossible. It's the only time we really see his side of the family during the year with the exception of the occasional summer trip together, or if I have a tour stop there. So I know how much it means to him, especially since we live on opposite coasts. But he likes to joke with Derek that _we_ have the better weather.

"I take it Samuel is still off the list?" He laughs

"Damn right." I nod "Naming our son Samuel Samuels is just mean."

He tried this with Aaron and Jonah too, here's hoping these babies are girls so he doesn't try and talk me into it again.

"That's your opinion." He shrugs "I think it'd be rad cool."

"You have no idea how many hot guy points you just lost for saying 'rad cool'." I tell him

"Aw." He pretends to pout "You still love me though, right?"

"Yeah I guess." I shrug "And you're still the hottest guy I know, if that helps."

He walks over to me and presses another kiss to my lips, knocking me onto my back. I begin to kiss him back, when I realize how uncomfortable I feel.

"Babe..." I sigh "You're pushing the babies onto my bladder."

"Shit, sorry!" He apologizes, sitting up, then lowering his head to my abdomen "Sorry babies."

"Get off of me, you goon." I laugh, smacking his arm

He stands up again and goes back to the dresser, I push myself up and swing my legs over the side of the bed, standing up as well.

I'm known to over pack, like a lot. It's a habit I'm trying to break, but it's just so hard when I have no idea what kind of situation I'll be in wherever I'm going, I have to be prepared! But regardless, my husband has limited me to one suitcase for the four days we'll be in Boston.

"What's the weather supposed to be like again?" I ask him, walking into my own walk-in closet

"Around forty degrees all week." My husband replies

"Dammit." I sigh

Going from mid-seventies to low forties is absolute shit when you've lived in southern California your entire life.

"You'll be fine, babe." He laughs "It's only a few days."

"And I'll be staying inside the entire time!"

"Good. My mom will probably want to talk your ear off about the pregnancy anyways."

Either way, I won't be able to win this one.


	62. Chapter 62

_Ruby's POV_

"Momma?"

"Jonah?" I quickly turn and make eye contact with my son before turning back to his closet "What's up Bub?"

"What are you doing with my clothes?" He asks, cocking his head to the side

"I'm packing them." I laugh, setting a stack of t-shirts down on Aaron's bed "Well, some of them."

"Are we going on a trip?" His eyes suddenly grow wide with excitement

"We are." I laugh, walking over to the boys' dresser to find some pants to pack as well

"Is it because you're gonna sing some more? Are we gonna get to play with Julia?"

"No, Jonah." I chuckle "We're going to Boston to see Uncle Derek and Aunt Serena. And Grandma Di and Grandpa Tom."

"Will Logan and Reid be there too?"

Logan and Reid are Derek, Trevor's brother, and his wife Serena's twin sons. They're about to turn nine.

"Yeah they will."

"AARON!" Jonah exclaims, running out of the bedroom to find his brother "WE'RE GOING TO SEE LOGAN AND REID!"

I can't help but laugh. Aaron and Jonah have only actually spent time with their cousins maybe five or six times that they can remember, but they still _love_ whenever they get to see them. They're older, and my boys try to be just like them whenever they're around. I grab the stack of clothes off of the bed and carry it down the hallway into my and Trevor's room.

"What are you two up to?" I ask

Trevor and Olivia are laying on the bed, watching a movie on our TV. When I look, I see that it's Tangled.

"Daddy asked if I wanted to watch a movie with him." Olivia tells me "He said I could pick."

"Funny." I smirk, setting the clothes down next to the suitcase that I have set aside for the triplets "Tangled is Daddy's favorite movie."

"No it's not." Olivia laughs "Is it Daddy?"

"It might be." Trevor shrugs "I like a lot of movies."

"That _is_ true." I agree "He does. Livy, baby, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure." She shrugs, sitting up

"Can you go into your room, and grab your pink shoes please?"

"The ones that match the ones you have?" She asks, referencing the matching converse that we both have

"Those are the ones."

"Okay."

Olivia scoots off the bed and runs out of the room to retrieve her shoes.

"How's the packing coming?" Trevor rolls onto his side and looks at me

"Alright." I sigh "I think I'm almost done. How's the movie?"

"Alright." He shrugs "Personally, I'm more of a fan of The Princess and the Frog to be completely honest."

"Because of the music?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Tangled is a good one!"

"That's one person's opinion."

"I found them!" Olivia announces, running back into the room "Here you go, Mommy!"

"Thank you, baby." I push a stray hair out of her face "Can you put them in that suitcase over there?"

She nods and carries the shoes over to the suitcase and drops them inside, then walks back over to me and wraps her arms around my abdomen.

"You okay, Liv?"

"Yeah." She sighs "I'm just giving the babies a hug."

"Oh." I laugh "Well they say thank you."

"They do?" She gasps

"Sure they do." I smile "Who wouldn't love a hug from their big sister?"

* * *

_Jade's POV_

"V-I-O-L-E-T." Violet says out loud as she writes the letters on the paper "I did it! I wrote my name!"

"You sure did." I smile "Good job!"

"Thanks." She grins, then goes back to the paper she was coloring

A smaller than normal soccer ball rolls across the floor and hits my foot. I look down at it just in time to see Wesley running after it.

"Ball!" He exclaims, bending down and picking it up with his small hands "Mine."

"Ah, Wesley..." I sigh "Soccer is for outside, remember? Not in the house."

"But..." He looks up at me, then to the ball, then back the way her came from "Daddy!"

"Daddy?" I raise an eyebrow at him

"I was playing with him." Beck says, entering the room "Sorry."

"Babe." I groan "If you let him play with it in the house, he's going to think it's okay."

"Well..." He shrugs "As long as he doesn't break anything..."

"Until he breaks one of your Oscars."

"You know what, Wes?" Beck chuckles, bending down and scooping up our son "Let's go play soccer _outside_."

"Dinner in twenty minutes." I tell him as he bends down and kisses my cheek

"We'll be ready." He promises "Come on bud, let's go!"


	63. Chapter 63

_Ruby's POV_

"Am I going to get to play with Violet at Thanksgiving?" Olivia asks from behind me

Trevor and I sit in the middle row of the black range rover that picked us up from the airport, and the triplets sit in the back row of seats behind us.

"No baby, I'm sorry." I turn my head around to face her "

"Why not?"

"Because Violet stayed in California." Trevor explains "We're in Massachusetts."

"I thought we were going to Boston?" Aaron says, looking rather confused

"Boston is a city in Massachusetts." Trevor says "Like Los Angeles is a city in California. But technically we're in Marblehead because that's where Uncle Derek lives."

The triplets exchange sideways glances with each other, trying to figure out where they are exactly. Is it California? Boston? Or this new place called Marblehead? Trevor opens his mouth like he's going to continue trying to explain, but I reach over and touch his arm, shaking my head. Whatever he says is going to go right over their heads, there's no use in confusing them even more.

"Is this the street, Mr. Samuels?" The driver asks

"Um..." Trevor glances out the window, looking for a street sign "Yup, this is the one. Should be number 1209 on your left."

"I see it."

"We're here." I turn around and smile to my children

A chorus of 'yay's erupts from behind me, two of them sounding more convinced than the third. Olivia is upset that she won't have any girls to play with. Not that I could blame her, she lives with two boys, and now we're adding _two more_ to the mix. I'm willing to bet that she sticks close to either Serena or me all week.

We pull into the driveway and the driver cuts the ignition, stepping out and opening the door for Trevor, then walking around to the back of the car to pull our suitcases out. Trevor flips his seat down and helps the kids climb out of the back before climbing in himself to uninstall their booster seats. I open my door and begin to stick my foot out when the driver stops me.

"Let me help you there, Mrs. Samuels." He smiles extending a hand to me

"Oh, Ruby is fine." I assure him

Mrs. Samuels is my mother-in-law, I'm not nearly old enough to be called Mrs. Samuels yet.

"Ms. Ruby." He nods, helping me out of the car

When I'm balanced and standing in the driveway, I walk around to the opposite side of the car where my children are anxiously awaiting next to their car seats and the collection of family suitcases.

"Why pink?" Trevor sighs, setting the last suitcase down on the driveway "Why not black? Like a normal person?"

"Normal is boring, babe."

He smiles, rolling his eyes and turning back to the driver.

"Thank you, sir." Trevor extends his hand to him to shake "We appreciate it."

"Not a problem, Mr. Samuels." The driver nods "I'll be back Saturday afternoon to pick you all up. Enjoy you're Thanksgiving."

"You too."

We pay, and I make sure Trevor gives him a generous tip, before grabbing a few suitcases and making our way up the front walk.

"Hello, hello!" Serena smiles, meeting us at the doorway "Good to see you all!"

"Hi!" Trevor hugs her and kisses her cheek before walking inside "Say hi, kids."

"Hi." The triplets all say in unison

"Logan and Reid are upstairs playing, if you want to go and join them."

Aaron and Jonah look up at me, and after I give them the nod of approval, they take off running into the house and up the stairs. Meanwhile, Olivia stays close to my side.

"Ruby!" Serena grins, opening her arms to hug me "How are you, my love?"

"Rather well, considering the circumstances." I chuckle "And you?"

"Never better."

"I'm going to go get the rest of the bags." Trevor tells me, kissing my cheek and walking outside again

"Kay." I smile

"How are your two little ones?" Serena asks me, gesturing to the baby bump protruding through my shirt

"They're good." I say, following her through the foyer and into the front room "Not moving yet, thankfully."

"Believe me, I get it." She laughs

Logan and Reid are twins too, so if there's anyone who knows the pain of multiples, it's Serena.

"Miss Olivia, are you just _so _excited to be a big sister?"

Olivia nods, but still stays close to my side.

"For her sake, I hope one of them is a girl." I run my hand over the top of my daughter's head, brushing her hair out of her eyes "This little girl and I need some more girls around."

"I'm so happy that you guys are here." Serena tells me "I'm happy to have some girls around for a few days too."

* * *

"No way." Derek scoffs "That didn't happen."

"It did." Trevor laughs "You should've seen how _pissed _Ruby got."

We only see Derek and Serena maybe once or twice a year, so we're always swapping stories. Derek is a high school drama teacher at the local private school, so every day is something different for him. And Trevor and I spent a majority of the past two years traveling the world on my last tour, so we have all kinds of stories to tell too. However, the one my husband is sharing now is one of my _least _favorites.

Being married to a celebrity, and also being a bit of a celebrity himself, my husband is in the public eye. He's featured in magazines and on their covers, there are fan accounts dedicated to him, and every once and a while one of the teen magazines includes a pull out poster of him. Millions of teenage girls love him and are crushing on him. And I mean, who am I to blame them? Have you met him? He's sweet, and funny, good with kids, super talented, and not to mention, _gorgeous_. But that one fan in Miami who flashed him? Not exactly my favorite.

"I was more than pissed." I admit "I was whatever comes after pissed. _I'm sorry that you seem to be confused. He belongs to me the boy is mine_."

"Now, now, no need to go all nineties R&amp;B and kill someone." Trevor wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close to him "You know I only have eyes for you."

"I know." I admit, pressing a kiss to his lips

And how incredibly lucky am I that it's true?


	64. Chapter 64

_Ruby's POV_

"Where are my grandchildren?" Thomas Samuels's loud and familiar voice booms through Derek and Serena's house "Come down here and give Grandpa a hug!"

The pitter patter of little feet sound from the floor above us, soon accompanied by a chorus of five little voices as Logan, Reid, Aaron, Jonah and Olivia make their way downstairs. I walk out of the living room, where I had been sitting with the other adults, through the kitchen and look down the front hallway to see all of the kids crowded around Derek and Trevor's parents in the entryway.

"Oh my goodness!" His mother shrieks "Look at how big you've all gotten!"

"You saw us a few weeks ago, Grandma." Logan reminds her

"Oh I know that, dear." She smiles "I was talking about your cousins! They seem to have grown a foot since I last saw them!"

Trevor's parents both grew up in this area. Derek was born here, but they moved to Los Angeles because of Tom's job when he was about eighteen months old, and that's where Trevor was born. They had, or I guess they still do have, a lot of family on the east coast, so they vacationed out here quite often throughout much of Trevor's life. Derek decided to go to school out here, as did Trevor. Derek met Serena in college, and they decided to settle in the Boston suburbs. Eventually when it came time for retirement, his parents moved out here too, to be closer to the rest of their family. I think everyone expected Trevor to do the same, but my husband is an LA boy through and through, so he decided to stay. Our careers probably helped that too.

"Mom!" Jonah spots me at the end of the hallway "Grandma and Grandpa are here!"

"I know, I see them!" I grin "Hello!"

"Oh Ruby, my darling!" Di exclaims, spotting me and pushing past the kids to start making her way down the hallway "Look at you! You're practically glowing!"

"Well thank you!" I chuckle "I'm not exactly feeling luminous at the moment, but it's good to know I look it."

"Grandma! Grandma!" Olivia tugs at her coat "Mommy has two babies in her tummy!"

"I heard!" Diane gasps "Does that mean you're going to be a big sister?"

Olivia smiles shyly, nodding.

"How exciting!"

"Hi Mom!" Trevor steps into the conversation and gives his mother a hug

"Trevor!" She grins "Oh it's so good to see you! We rarely get the chance now that you two are...what's the term? Pop stars?"

"Well, I guess Ruby is technically the pop star." He laughs "I'm just the guitar player."

"Don't sell yourself short!" I tease him "Di, he's the ridiculously talented musician behind it all."

"That's my boy!" She smiles, kissing his cheek

"He's not giving you any trouble, is he Ruby?" Tom asks, entering the kitchen behind his wife, followed by the rest of the kids "Because if he's not treating you right, I'll whoop his ass right here, right now."

"Dad!" Trevor exclaims "Don't swear in front of my kids!"

"The offer stands." Tom nods, looking directly at me

"He's been fantastic, Tom." I assure him, hugging Trevor's waist "The best husband, father, and best friend any girl could ever ask for."

"That's what I like to hear." He smiles "I can keep an eye on Derek better than I can on this one, with you two all the way out in California."

"You could come visit us, Dad." Trevor reminds him

"Well I think we might have to more often now." Diane tells her husband "With two new grandbabies on the way."

"Oh that's right." Tom chuckles "The curse of the Samuels Multiples. They skip generations you know, I was a twin."

"We know, Dad." Trevor rolls his eyes "You and Uncle Marty."

"Well you know, maybe your wife didn't!"

"I knew." I laugh

"Oh..."

"You only tell the story every time any of your grandchildren come up in conversation, Dad." Derek says, walking over to us "Come on and sit by the fireplace, I just got a nice little fire going."

* * *

"Do you know if they're boys or girls yet?" Tom asks

He's sitting on the couch with Diane, next to Trevor and I. Derek and Serena sit on the couch across from us. Trevor has one arm wrapped around my waist, gently rubbing my bump while he holds a cup of hot chocolate in his other. We've been talking, sitting in the warmth of the fire in the fireplace, while the kids chase each other around the backyard.

"No..." I shake my head "Soon though, we should find out next week."

"So you _are_ going to find out?"

"Yes." I nod "We want to be extra prepared."

"Have you given any thoughts to names yet?" Diane turns to face us

"Mom, don't heckle them..." Derek sighs "Let them enjoy their visit."

"I'm not heckling! I'm just curious..."

"We have two middle names picked out for boys and two middle names picked out for girls." Trevor tells her "But we aren't planning on saying anything until the babies are actually born."

"Not even to us?"

"Nope." He shakes his head "The media will do absolutely _anything_ to get into our business, we're not taking any risks."

"I would never exploit you to some _paparazzi_." Diane gasps

"You'd be surprised how easy they can manipulate you, Ma." Derek tells her "It's not the same world you grew up in."

"What about David for a boy?" Diane suggests, trying to change the subject "After your grandfather?"

"That came up in conversation once or twice." I tell her

"But not for a first name." Trevor is quick to add

"Mom!" Aaron's voice fills the house "Dad?"

"We're in the living room!" I call to him

The oldest of my triplets rushes into the room, followed by his brother and sister. Their faces are bright red from playing out in the cold, and they look scared and confused.

"What's the matter, guys?" Trevor asks, sitting up

"There's stuff falling from the sky!" Olivia points out the window

"There's stuff falling from the sky?" I say, standing up and walking over to look out the window and investigate "Hm...I don't see anything."

"It was white! And it melted turned clear when we touched it!"

"Was it cold?" I ask them

"Yeah!"

I turn around and exchange a look with my husband, neither one of us can resist cracking a smile and bursting into laughter.

Our children have just had their first memorable experience with snow.


	65. Chapter 65

_Jade's POV_

Growing up, Thanksgiving never really meant much to me. I never really thought I had anything to actually be thankful for. My parents went through a nasty divorce when I was only eight years old. My dad used my sister and I as a tool to spite my mother for almost five years, until her and my step-father and my baby brother were killed in a car accident he caused. And then we were forced through another six and a half years of his torture.

But my outlook changed after all of that was over.

I was alive. My sister was alive. We survived being beaten, and kidnapped, and stabbed and a million other things too terrible to mention. I had a beautiful daughter and a wonderful husband. We were lucky.

And since then...things have only been going up..

My husband won a golden globe, and then an Oscar. And then four more golden globes and seven Oscars followed that. I've written six plays, three movies and a musical. And now we have another beautiful little girl, and a gorgeous son.

Ruby has released three platinum albums and toured the world twice. She married a great guy and they have three kids together, and two more on the way.

We can all live happily and comfortably now, knowing that my father is out of our lives forever and doesn't have the ability to hurt us anymore.

But the memories are still there.

_"Jade?"_

_"Ruby! Oh my god!" I exclaim and throw my arms around her._

_"Miss please." A paramedic warns "She's very fragile."_

_He's right. She looks so small on that stretcher. Plus she's bruised and covered in blood, which makes it even worse._

_Sometimes I forget that, even though she's 16 now, Ruby is still a little girl. A little girl who needs someone to take care of her. And though Trevor treats her right, I'm the only one who can really give her what she needs._

_"We're taking her to a hospital about 2 miles from here." Someone tells me "Follow the ambulance."_

_"I'll get there as soon as I can, okay?" I tell Ruby._

No.

We can't think about those memories. Today, or ever.

Today is the day to be incredibly thankful that we're all still here, we're all healthy and in one piece, and we can all live our lives the way we want to now.

"Mom?" Sophie says, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room "You coming?"

"Yeah." I look up, smiling at her "I'm coming."

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"Here." Trevor appears next to me and takes the bowl of mashed potatoes out of my hands "I got it babe."

"I can take it." I insist "I'm pregnant, not handicapped."

"Just let me be chivalrous." He smirks, pressing a kiss to lips before carrying the bowl over to the table

I can't help but chuckle and shake my head, quite amused by the goon I decided to marry. I rest my hand on the countertop, leaning against it for support, when suddenly I see the plate of sugar cookies inching closer and closer to the edge of the counter. I look down to see that Olivia is the one behind the antics.

"Olivia Jade!" I exclaim "What are you doing?"

"I want a cookie!" She tells me

"Not right now." I tell her "Dessert comes _after_ dinner, remember?"

"But you said it's a special day!"

"It is." I laugh, pushing the plate away from her "But you still have to eat your dinner first."

The triplets are still young enough that the only special occasions they understand are birthdays and Christmas, so when we say Thanksgiving is a 'special day', it's still hard for them to understand. But I can appreciate Thanksgiving for what it's really worth, so can Trevor.

I'm not a slave to my father's abuse anymore. I can live my life free without worrying about whether or not he's waiting around the corner, ready to strike.

_Someone sits down in Trevor's chair, I lift my head up to see a man I've never seen before, with a grimace on his face._

_"Don't move." He scowls and I hear a click of a gun under the table._

_I gulp and nod. Carefully, I slip my phone into my purse and slip the strap over my shoulder, studying the man as I do so. The more I look at him, I realize I really do recognize him…._

_"Daddy?" I choke out._

_"Shut up!" he spits "Get up! Now!"_

_I nod and get up. He stands up and puts the gun in the holster on his hip. He grabs my arm and pulls me out the door. His once brown hair has been dyed blonde, he's obviously wearing colored contacts because his green eyes are now brown, and he must've gotten a professional spray tan._

_Out on the street, there's a grey van parked on the curb and it's running._

_"RUBY!" Trevor yells from behind us "SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE!"_

_"Get in!" Dad orders_

_"No!" I struggles as he tries to force me in the back._

_"Ruby Kaitlin!"_

_"No!" I repeat_

_If I can just hold out for a while longer maybe someone will be able to help me._

_Sadly his strength overcomes mine, and he lifts me up off the ground, carrying me to the open doors on the back of the van._

"Come on, Livy!" Trevor calls, pulling out a chair for her and standing behind it "Come sit down, it's time for dinner."

"Mom, can you sit by me?"

"No, she's sitting by me!"

"Boys." Trevor sighs

"Are you coming Mommy?" Olivia looks up at me "It's time to eat."

"Yeah, sweetie." I grin, taking her hand "I'm coming."


	66. Chapter 66

_Jade's POV_

"Wheeeee!" I smile, staring up at Wesley

I'm laying on my back, holding him above my head, moving him around. We're playing airplane, it's one of his favorite games.

"More!" Wesley giggles hysterically "More!"

"More?" I chuckle

"More!"

"Hmm..." I pretend to hesitate, lowering his face closer to mine

"Momma!" He laughs

"That's me!" I kiss his nose, which makes him laugh even more "And who are you?"

"Wesley!"

"That's right!" I say, pushing him back up into the air and continuing the game

If I had to describe my son, I'd say he's sixty percent Beck, forty percent me, both in appearance and personality. He has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes like his daddy, but his skin is paler like mine. He was a very easy baby, and he has a generally laid-back personality, which he without a doubt gets from Beck. But when you piss him off, which is rare but can happen, he becomes a little terror, just like me.

Looking at him, I'll occasionally start to wonder what his older brother, Jonathan, would've been like if my father hadn't taken him from our lives before he even got a chance to live his own. Would he be easy-going too? Or would he be mischievous, always keeping Beck and I on our toes at thirteen years old? Would he be like his older sister Sophie and look exactly like me? Or would he be like his little sister Violet and be the perfect blend? We'll never know, but it will always bother me.

The loss of a child is something that will stick with you and haunt you forever.

I should be counting the blessings that I have, and their names are Sophie Marie, Violet Kaitlin, and Wesley Jonathan. They're absolutely perfect, and I'm incredibly lucky to have them in my life, and to call them mine. I don't deserve them.

"Where's my little guy?" Beck asks, entering the living room where we're playing

And who could forget Beckett James? Another blessing I'm lucky to have, but not good enough to deserve.

"I here!" Wesley exclaims "I here Daddy!"

"There you are!" Beck smiles, bending down and taking him out of my arms "There's my Wesley!"

"Me!" Wesley smiles, burying his face in his father's shoulder

"Hey!" I pout "We were having a lot of fun playing airplane!"

Mr. Wesley is a Daddy's Boy through and through, there's not doubt about it.

"Well, Violet and I wanted to know if he wanted to go for a bike ride with us." Beck tells me

"A bike ride?" I raise an eyebrow at him "It's only sixty-five degrees."

For California, that's _cold_.

"I'll bundle them up!" He assures me "Don't worry."

"Ask your son." I shrug

"Wes." Beck nudges the toddler in his arms "Do you want to go for a ride on the back of Daddy's bike?"

"Yeah!" Wesley grins

"Alright fine." I sigh "But don't complain to me when you have to turn around five minutes in because he's crying that he's cold."

"I won't." Beck kisses my cheek "Do you want to come too?"

"Nah." I shake my head "I think I'll finish putting up the rest of the decorations. Thank you for the offer though."

"We'll be back soon." He promises

"Okay, have fun."

Beck and Wesley leave, leaving me lying on my back in the middle of our living room. After about five minutes or so, I hear the front door open, then close again, letting me know that they've left and I have the house to myself. Christmas is about a month away, and while we put a majority of our decorations up last week as soon as Thanksgiving was over, there's still a few boxes of decorations that have yet to be unpacked and hung up. So, I pull myself up off the floor, and get to work.

It's weird to be hanging up pictures of faux snowmen and snowflakes when Los Angeles almost never sees snow, ever. I've never celebrated Christmas in any other place though, so I don't know any different.

My phone buzzes in my back pocket. I pull it out expecting a text from my husband telling me that one of the kids got cold, and they're on their way back, but it's actually from my sister.

_Another blessing I'm happy to have in my life._

The text message is simply a blue heart emoji, followed by a pink heart emoji. Talk about cryptic.

I type back a quick response that basically asks what the fuck that means, and I see the response bubble pops up almost immediately, indicating that she's typing back.

_Think about it_. She sends back

_Ruby, I don't have time to play games right now._

I have the house to myself for maybe half an hour, and that _never_ happens.

About a minute later, she sends a picture of a sonogram, which I will only assume are her twins, followed by the message,

_You're going to have a new niece and nephew come March_.

It takes me a second to grasp that she's just revealed the gender of her babies to me. I completely forgot that appointment was today.

_Oh! _I respond _That's fantastic! Congratulations to both of you! _

A boy and a girl. Aaron and Jonah get another playmate, as does Wesley, and Olivia finally gets a real sister. I know that Ruby wanted at least one girl for that very reason. She tells me all the time that she hoped Olivia would one day have a sister she could have as strong of a relationship with as her and I do.

Ruby sends back a smiley face. Although, she's probably through the roof and to the moon with excitement right now. And I'm excited for her.


	67. Chapter 67

_Jade's POV_

"_I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream_..." I hear Beck singing in the other room "_I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. And I know it's true, that visions are seldom all they seem...But if I know you, I know what you'll do...You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream_."

I dry my hands on a towel and throw it down on the countertop, walking in to the next room over to see what exactly it is that has my husband singing Disney songs. Although, I have a guess.

"Do it again, Daddy!" Violet squeals

"Oh, I don't know, Sleeping Beauty." Beck chuckles, shifting her from one side of his hip to the other "I think that first one kind of took it all out of me."

"Please Daddy?" She begs "_Please_?"

"Oh alright." He smirks, picking up her hand and beginning to waltz around the living room again "_I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream_..."

Wesley toddles around, following the two of them as Beck dances, looking up and giggling. I walk in and take a seat on the couch next to Sophie, who's curled up, reading a textbook, notebook at her side and pen in hand.

"Whatcha up to?" I ask, placing a hand on her knee

"Theater History." She sighs "Chapter Four. Very exciting and intriguing stuff."

"Oh I bet." I laugh "Nothing more exciting than learning about a bunch of techniques that a bunch of old dudes came up with and no one uses anymore, right?"

"Right."

God, that class was boring when _I_ was in high school, I can only imagine what Sophie thinks of it now almost fourteen years later. But, the course is required if you want to move on and take more advanced drama classes, so almost every kid at Hollywood Arts has to suffer through it.

"Mama!" Wesley exclaims, climbing up onto the couch and jumping into my lap "Hi!"

"Hello there, Wesley!" I gasp, wrapping him up in a hug "Are you playing with Daddy and Violet?"

"No." Wesley shakes his head "Daddy and Vi dance."

"Have you been dancing too?"

"No." He shakes his head again

"Alright." I chuckle "Would you like to dance with me?"

"I dance with Soph."

"With Sophie?"

"Yeah!"

"Wes..." Sophie sighs "I've got to do homework."

"Soph!" Wesley groans "Please?"

"He said please." I nudge her "Come on, Dad can give you the sparknotes on that chapter later, he was one of the freaks who actually enjoyed that class."

"Hey!"

"I say that with the most love." I tell him

"Alright fine." Sophie closes the book and sets it on the coffee table "Come here Wesley, let's dance."

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

"Goodnight baby brother, goodnight baby sister." Olivia presses a kiss to my bump "I love you."

"They say they love you too." I smile, kissing her goodnight "And so do I. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay..." Olivia yawns "Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight."

I follow the rest of the typical 'goodnight, sleep tight' routine; turn on the nightlight, turn off the lamp, close the door behind me and tiptoe away. Then I head downstairs to find my husband.

We recently found out that the twins taking up residence in my abdomen are going to be a boy and a girl, which I honestly think is the best case scenario. Poor Olivia doesn't end up sandwiched in the middle of a pack of four boys, Aaron and Jonah don't throw a fit because the new babies are both girls, everybody is happy. At least for now.

I find Trevor sitting at my piano, but he's not playing. Instead, he's staring down at that faded yellow notebook that came back into focus a few months ago, right after we found out I was pregnant again.

"Whatcha doin?" I ask, sitting down next to him on the bench "Gonna write a song about baby names?"

"No." He chuckles "I just figured, we're musicians, you know? Inspiration comes to us when we're making _music, _or trying to at least. So if I sit down here at the piano, maybe I'll come up with a bomb ass baby name for one of the little goobers."

"Bomb ass baby name?" I raise an eyebrow at him

"I think we've determined I tend to talk without thinking."

"Oh I love you." I smile, leaning my head on his shoulder

"I love you too."

Both babies have middle names already, those were picked a while ago. All that's left to do now is find two perfect first names to match.

"I like Ben." I tell him "What do you think?"

"Benjamin Samuels?" He clarifies "Not bad, not bad."

"Or William." I smile "William Samuels."

"Remember his middle name."

"I remember." I nod

"Completely shifting genders here for a second..." Trevor says "I've really fallen in love with the name Rosie."

He slides the notebook over to me and flips to the section where we've been recording girls names. Sure enough, in my husband's familiar handwriting, 'Rosie' is written in all capital letters.

"Rosie." I repeat "Rosie Samuels."

"Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" He smiles

"But her middle name." I remind him

"I know." He sighs "It wouldn't sound that great."

"We could name her something similar." I tell him "Like Rosalyn, or Rosalie. I really liked Rosemary if we had gotten a second girl in addition to Liv. Rosie could be her nickname."

"I suppose it could." He smiles "I like the idea."

"Me too." I chuckle "But we still have some time before we have to make a final decision."

"Not enough time though."

"I know."


	68. Chapter 68

_Ruby's POV_

"Which one do you like better?" I ask Trevor, holding up two paint swatches for him to see "_Terra Brun_? Or _Java_?"

"Um..." Trevor hesitates, examining the two cards in my hands "The one on the right."

"This one?" I clarify, holding the card up slightly higher "Java?"

"If that's what it's called, then sure."

"That's what it's called." I chuckle, setting the cards down on the table and wrapping my arms around his neck "And I _love _your taste in paint colors, Monsieur Samuels."

"Is that the one you liked better too?" He raises an eyebrow at me

"It might've been." I smile

"And what would you have done if I had said I liked Terra Brun better?"

"I would've ordered the Java anyway." I tilt my head up slightly and press a kiss to his lips

The nursery for the new babies is going to be quite the project. All four walls are going to be divided in half horizontally by a strip of white molding, all of the space above is going to be painted the Java color we just agreed on, which is basically a chocolate brown color. Below the molding, there will be baby blue and light pink vertical stripes, about four inches thick, separated by white vertical stripes about two inches thick. We've yet to buy furniture, but we talked to a designer who helped us determine that all of it will be white; the cribs, the dressers, the changing table, all of it. The girl's bedding will be light pink and chocolate brown, the boy's will be light blue and chocolate brown, I found the perfect bedding sets online and ordered them almost instantly. They'll match perfectly and they're fucking adorable.

"I don't understand why paint samples have to have such weird ass names." Trevor sighs, picking up one of the swatches "I mean Terra Brun? Are you kidding? Just call it brown!"

"Well there's thousands of different paint shades out there." I remind him "You can't call every shade of brown 'brown', it would get confusing."

"What color was the triplet's nursery again?" He asks, trying to remember "It was a really ridiculous name..."

"Acier." I remind him

"Acier!" He snaps his fingers "That's what it was. They should've just called it 'Dark Gray', because that's literally what it was."

"It was light gray."

"It was _gray_." He laughs "Dark or light, it didn't need a ridiculous label."

"You're such a _boy_." I tease him

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I would hope I'm a boy..." He smirks, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me as close to him as he can "I've knocked you up twice now. That would be pretty hard to explain if I _wasn't_ a boy."

He brushes his face against the side of mine and his breath is warm on my neck.

"One of us has to pick the kids up in less than thirty minutes..." I sigh, jerking my head away and looking up at him "What's the point in starting something we can't even finish?"

"You're right." He frowns "Maybe tonight."

"If we can stay awake long enough."

"Good point." He smiles, resting his forehead against mine "Maybe tomorrow then."

* * *

"Alright!" Trevor exclaims, lifting Olivia on to his lap "Music time!"

"Soon we won't all be able to _fit _on this bench together." I chuckle, assisting Aaron as he climbs onto the piano bench between Trevor and I, as Jonah climbs up on my opposite side

"We're gonna need a bigger bench!" Trevor smirks

"Or less people." Olivia shrugs

"Or that."

"What song are we singing tonight?" Aaron asks, looking up at Trevor "Can we do the one about the bird again?"

"Nah, not this time bud." Trevor ruffles his hair "We're going to sing one of Mommy's songs tonight. Well, it's kind of one of Mommy's songs...you'll see."

"Okay."

"So..." Trevor begins his mini piano lesson "See this key right here?"

"Yeah." All three kids say in unison

"Well this is the C note." He says, pressing the key a few times so they can hear the noise

"C." I sing, holding out the note a while, matching it to the pitch of the piano

"And this one?" Trevor moves to another key "This is E."

"E." I sing again, repeating the same process

"And the last one right here? This is the G note."

"G!" Both Trevor and I sing together this time

"And when you play them all together at the same time...it's called C major." Trevor explains "And when you add a couple more notes in there, you can play a song."

"Are you going to sing a song, Mom?" Jonah asks me

"Of course I am." I smile "Dad is going to help me, right?"

"Of course." Trevor smirks

_"When I find myself in times of trouble  
Mother Mary comes to me  
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be  
And in my hour of darkness  
She is standing right in front of me  
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be  
Let it be, let it be  
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be_

_And when the broken hearted people  
Living in the world agree  
There will be an answer, let it be  
For though they may be parted  
There is still a chance that they will see  
There will be an answer, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be  
Let it be, let it be  
Yeah there will be an answer, let it be"_


	69. Chapter 69

Twitter Update from **RubyKaitlin**:

_Hey there, friends of mine! Tune in here at 12:30 PDT for a special surprise! See you then!_

* * *

"What are you doing?" I sigh, leaning up against the doorframe of what will eventually become the twins' new nursery "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I'm not going to hurt myself!" Trevor insists "I'm handy!"

"Yeah..." I nod "That's sort of what I'm afraid of here..."

Trevor painted the molding that will run horizontally across the middle of all four walls white a few days ago, and now that it's dry, he's getting ready to hang it. However, the amount of power tools he has scattered across the floor surrounding his feet is enough to make anyone worry, not just a concerned wife.

"I'll be fine."

"Shouldn't you paint the walls first?" I raise an eyebrow at him "You know, so you don't get paint all over the nice, white, molding?"

"How else am I going to know where to stop the stripes and start the brown?" He says "Relax, babe. I have everything under control."

"Do you? Maybe you should call Beck to come and help."

"I don't need Beck's help!" He insists "Stop worrying about me, I'll be fine."

"You're sure?"

"Positive." He walks over to me and presses a kiss to my forehead "Now go on, go do your Twitter thing. I'll be done by the time you are."

"Alright." I sigh "Just promise me that if you put a nail through your hand or something, you'll come tell me?"

"I promise." He laughs

"Okay."

I turn over my shoulder and walk down the hallway, towards the stairs. Stairs aren't as easy for me as they were five months ago, carrying two extra humans around with me makes the process slightly more difficult, even if they are tiny little things still. Once I'm downstairs, I head for the kitchen, where I already have my PearBook fired up and ready to go, and take a seat at the island.

"Alright..." I whisper to myself as I hit the button to go live on TwitCam "Let's do this thing..."

The view count in the bottom corner starts to increase by two or three at a time, until eventually it's increasing by the hundreds. The feed on the side of the screen springs to life as my fans start messaging me.

"Hi guys." I smile "Yeah I see you. Hi! Hey there. Hello! Hi! Can everyone hear me?"

I look to the feed and see that the general consensus is 'yes we can hear you', and decide it's time to start things moving along.

"So hi there everyone!" I wave into the webcam "How's it going? It's been almost six months since we've done one of these, so I figured there's no time like the present, right? That and my kids are at school and the house is _finally_ clean, so I'm a little on the bored side. I figured why not spend the afternoon talking to the greatest fans in the world? Start sending in your questions and I'll answer them as I see them...let's go with the hashtag...#RubyQ&amp;A"

I open a separate window and pull up the #RubyQ&amp;A feed and make it smaller so I can have it next to the other feed on my screen. Questions start flowing in almost immediately.

"_Where's Trevor_?" I read one of the first questions I see "My wonderful husband is upstairs playing 'Bob the Builder' actually, I'm kind of afraid he's going to hurt himself to be completely honest with you. So, if my camera picks up any weird background noise...it's probably him."

"_Do you know the gender of your babies? Congratulations by the way!_" Someone wants to know "Aw well thank you, first of all, you're so sweet. And yes, we do know, but we're not sharing with the world quite yet. You'll find out when they're born. I know, I know. Not what you wanted to hear. Sorry."

_Aunt Ruby, send help! Theater History class is boring me to death!_ -**Sophie_Marie13**

"My niece, ladies and gentlemen. Soph, get off your phone and pay attention, you might actually find the class more enjoyable." I laugh "And your mom is more than likely watching this, so the joke is on you kiddo. Kids...what are you going to do with them?"

"_My name is Ruby too! I love you_!" Someone says "I love you too! And you have an awesome name!"

"_What do your kids think of the idea of having little siblings in a few months_? Well, they're excited for the most part, we haven't had any protest to it yet. So that's a plus right? I doubt it will stay that way when they're actually born, so we're going to enjoy it while it lasts!"

"_Have you picked out names yet?_" I read "We've picked out middle names, so now it's just a matter of finding the perfect first names to match. I think we have one almost completely locked in, emphasis on almost, things could still change. But the second one is still completely up in the air. I'm actually scanning through your user names looking for ideas, if we're being one hundred percent honest."

That probably just sent ninety percent of them off the deep end with excitement.

"_Ruby! When are we getting new music? I'm dying here!_" I can't help but laugh as I read "Um, another thing you're probably not going to want to hear...I don't actually know when new music is coming, I'm sorry! We've been writing some over the past few months, more Trevor and Mitch than me, but I haven't been in the studio at all since the last album. I know, it's sad! Uh...hopefully sometime within the next year, possibly. But don't hold me to that. Lord only _knows_ what will happen when these two little munchkins get here!"


	70. Chapter 70

_Ruby's POV_

"I think they want out, Mommy." Olivia sighs, looking up at me with two big, puppy dog eyes "You should take them out."

"I wish I could, sweetie." I laugh "But they're not ready to come out quite yet. Only a few more months."

"How long is a few more months?"

"Uh..." I hesitate, searching for a way to explain the concept of time to a five year old "They'll be here in March, alright? That's not that much longer."

She sighs again and rests her head up against my baby bump. In the past few weeks, my little girl has become absolutely _obsessed_ with the idea of becoming a big sister, especially now that she can feel the babies kick. She's very curious, asking all kinds of questions, like what they'll look like, what their names are, or where they'll sleep. The boys have asked some questions too, but they don't seem to be as interested as their sister. I feel like they view their new brother and sister as 'out of sight, out of mind'. My goodness, are they in for a wake up call.

"Can you tell me their names now?"

"No, Liv." I chuckle "Not yet."

"Why not, Momma?" She groans "I want to know."

"I know you do!" I laugh, pushing her hair back out of her face "I know you do, baby girl. But Daddy and I are still talking about it."

That's partially a lie. After a few long nights of arguments and negotiating, we have the girl's name one hundred percent solidified, and we're both absolutely in love with it. She'll have a name that's cute when she's little, but will grow and turn into a more mature one as she gets older. Not to mention it sounds good when it's listed next to the names of her three older siblings. But as for the boy? We're stuck. Trevor is absolutely stuck on naming him Collin, and no matter how much I want to, I can't seem to get on board with that. And no amount of persuasion has gotten him to agree to my favorite boy's name, which is Tobias. We would call him Toby for short. How cute does little Toby Samuels sound? Apparently to my husband, it doesn't sound cute at all. So the search for the perfect name for Baby Boy Samuels will continue.

Olivia opens her mouth to say something else, when a Nerf dart comes whizzing at us both and bounces off the side of her head.

"Ow!" Olivia exclaims, touching her hand to the side of her head

"Got you!" Jonah yells, running into the next room over

"Jonah Thomas!" I scold "You know the Nerf gun rules! We don't shoot at people!"

As the words leave my mouth, another dart comes out of nowhere and hits my shoulder.

"What the...?" I mutter, looking down at the foam dart resting on the floor, and then up again to see where it came from

"I got you, Mom!" Aaron cheers, popping up from behind the couch "You're dead!"

"Aaron!" I gasp "Give me the gun, right now. You know the rules, and what happens when you break them."

"No!" Aaron smirks, and runs away

Trevor wanted to get the boys Nerf guns for Christmas, claiming he had been about their age when he first got his first one. I had been skeptical, worrying that my already rowdy boys would go too far and start ganging up on their sister. So to compromise, Trevor found a pink one to give Olivia, and I was out of arguments. We had a set of rules that they had to follow, or the toys would be taken. They can't shoot at other people, if someone gets hurt then Mommy takes them, and they aren't allowed to use them around the babies once they're born.

"TREVOR!" I yell to my husband, hoping he's somewhere within ear shot "COME HELP ME PLEASE!"

I'm six and a half, almost seven, months pregnant with twins who can kick now, I can't be chasing two little boys armed with toy guns around my house. He wanted them to have them, he can come help me with the discipline I knew they'd eventually end up needing.

"What's up?" Trevor asks, emerging from the door that leads down to our basement

Half of it is a play space for the kids, the other half has been renovated into a music room for Trevor and I to use when we're writing at home, or just want to mess around with certain ideas.

"_Your_ sons just assaulted both Olivia and I with foam bullets." I tell him "Still think it was a good idea?"

"They're just being boys." He assures me "I'll take care of it."

"You better."

"Aaron! Jonah!" He calls out "You know the rules! Give me the guns!"

My husband turns over his shoulder, going to forcefully remove the guns and more than likely stick both of them in timeout. I turn back to Olivia, who looks absolutely mortified.

"You okay, Liv?" I ask

"Yeah..." She sighs, hugging my leg from the side "It doesn't hurt anymore."

I lean down and kiss the top of her head.

"Did they hurt the babies?"

"No, no, no, sweetie." I assure her "The babies are just fine. See?"

I take her hand and move it to the place where her little brother and sister seem to enjoy stabbing me and hold it there for a few seconds. After a while, one of their feet connects with her hand and a smile spreads across her face.

"See? They're fine."

"Yeah." She grins "They're still good."


	71. Chapter 71

_Jade's POV_

"Wesley!" I hear Violet shriek from the next room over "Mommy told you no!"

Great. Now I get to go scold my youngest for climbing on the play table for the ten millionth time today, and I get to scold the middle child for deliberately snitching on him.

"Vi!"

"She's going to get mad at you, Wes!"

I woke up this morning with a pounding headache, and all I've wanted to do all morning was go back to bed. If Beck wasn't at a cover shoot, promoting his new movie, I totally wouldn't have even gotten up today. But he's out of the house for the time being, my oldest is at school, and the youngest two decided to pick today to be the biggest pains in the ass.

If Ruby wasn't pregnant and in her third trimester, I'd ship them both over there for the day so fast...but I feel like that would be unfair to my sister and brother-in-law, they deserve as much time to themselves as they can get before there's two more newborns in their house, driving them to insanity as well.

I stop outside the door to the playroom for a second, just to see if the problem has resolved itself or not yet.

"Rawr!" I hear Wesley exclaim "I dinosaur!"

"Get down, Wesley!" Violet groans "Mommy is going to come in here and get mad again!"

"You bet I'll get mad again." I sigh, walking into the room "Wesley Jonathan. How many times have I told you not to stand on top of the play table today?"

Wesley freezes in place and his eyes grow wide out of both surprise and of fear.

"Uh..."

"See?" Violet crossed her arms across her chest and cocks her hip out "I told you she'd come back and get mad."

"I'm just as mad at you, young lady." I tell her, walking further into the room "You could've warned him quieter if you wanted to, but you said it loudly so you knew I'd come in here and get mad at him again. Nobody likes a tattle tale."

"But..."

"No buts, Violet Kaitlin." I shoot her a stern look "Come on, Wesley. Get down."

"No!"

"You're going in timeout either way." I tell him "So you can either get down and walk by yourself or I can drag you there, take your pick."

"No timeout!" Wesley stomps his foot, sending legos flying off the table and scattering them all over the floor "I play."

"You're going to be the death of me today, kid." I groan "Come on, let's go."

I pick my son up and tuck him under my arm, carrying him out of the room and out into the hallway. Of course, he screams in protest, obviously not seeing any issues with the behavior he had previously displayed. His high-pitched screaming makes my head pound even harder and I wince as we make our way downstairs into the kitchen where the timeout chair takes up residency.

"Five minutes." I tell the screaming toddler, setting him down in the chair "Then if you think you can behave, you can go back and play with Vi."

"No, Mommy! No!" Wesley cries

I walk over to the microwave and set the timer for five minutes. Despite his protests, Wesley doesn't move from the chair. He knows better, all of my children do.

"Just one more hour." I mutter to myself

One more hour and then I can take more pain medication for my headache.

"Hello?"

I hear the front door open and someone enters the house. It's my husband, and I've never been so relieved to hear him walk through that door in my life.

"In here!" I yell to him, then immediately regret it

Even the sounds I make myself make my headache worse.

"Woah..." Beck chuckles, entering the kitchen "What happened to him?"

"Caught him standing on the play table in the play room twice after I had already told him to get down." I wince, leaning up against the counter

"And what happened to you?" He asks, walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist from behind "Do you feel okay?"

"No." I admit

"What hurts?" He rests his head on my shoulder "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"My head is killing me." I tell him "And if you really want to help, you can watch your children so I can go lay down."

"Of course." He kisses my cheek "I can do that. Go ahead and go back to bed."

* * *

"Mom?" Sophie pokes her head through my bedroom doorway "Are you awake?"

"Yeah..." I roll over to face her "You can come in."

Sophie enters my bedroom and closes the door shut behind her, shrugging her backpack off of her shoulders and letting it fall to the ground. She walks over and sits on the edge of my bed.

"Daddy says you didn't feel good this morning."

"No, I didn't." I tell her "I had a really bad headache."

"Are you feeling any better now?"

"A little." I shrug "How was school today?"

"Alright, I guess..." She sighs "I don't like taking all of these theater classes though, they're so boring."

If it were up to Sophie she'd take all dance classes all day long.

"Everybody has to take them, Soph." I remind her "Aunt Ruby wasn't really big on singing until she was a couple months in to her freshman year, look what happened to her."

"It's second semester already Mom. I don't want to take any vocal classes, or any theater classes. I'm nothing like you and Dad!"

"That's fine baby!" I assure her, rubbing her arm gently "That's fine. You're your own, unique person, you don't have to like the same things that Dad and I like, or the same things that Aunt Ruby likes. If you like dance then good for you! You've found something you really enjoy!"

"You're not mad?"

"Why on earth would I get mad at you for being yourself, Sophie Marie?"

"I dunno..."

"Come here."

I wrap and arm around my daughter's waist, pulling her onto the bed next to me. I press a kiss to her forehead and she groans, but secretly I don't think she minds.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."


	72. Chapter 72

_Ruby's POV_

Shower time is one of my favorite parts of the day. It's the only time when I can be one hundred percent alone and have some time to myself. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, and I love my husband, but sometimes you just need some me time.

Except it's basically impossible for me to be completely alone these days because I carry two of my children around inside of me all the time. And it feels like they're constantly fighting with as often as they kick.

"Enough you two." I sigh, letting warm water run down my back "You're roommates for another two and a half months give or take. Get over it."

Sometimes I wonder what it's like to be pregnant with only one baby. I've had multiples with both pregnancies. I've also never carried a pregnancy to full term, which I guess is a blessing. God only knows what it would be like to be forty weeks pregnant with triplets, just the thought makes me cringe.

I turn the shower head off and step out onto the bath mat. The bathroom is freezing so I immediately grab my towel off of the hook on the wall and wrap myself up in it, begging to dry off.

Trevor told me to take my shower early tonight, and that he could handle getting dinner ready. But that means he also had to handle the kids. He's quite capable of achieving both tasks separately, but I'm not exactly sure how well he'll do multitasking. So when I don't hear any screaming or crying coming from downstairs, I'm surprised. And worried.

Maybe they killed him.

I walk out of the bathroom and into Trevor's and my bedroom and open one of the drawers in my dresser, pulling out a pair of underwear and a sports bra and putting them on. I'll probably go to bed as soon as the kids to tonight, seeing as I'm fucking exhausted, so there's really no point in getting _too_ glammed up. I pick a pair of leggings and one of Trevor's sweatshirts.

Mommy at her finest.

When I'm dressed and I start heading downstairs, I notice that there's no noise coming from anywhere in the house whatsoever.

Oh god, they actually _did_ kill him.

"Trevor?" I call

"Kitchen!" He calls back

"Where are the kids?" I ask him "It's too quiet, what'd you do to them?"

"Your sister came and got them." He smiles, turning away from the stove "I thought tonight could be for you and me."

"Babe..."

"I could tell that you were tired and having a rough day..." He tells me, walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist "So I thought I'd cook dinner, and then we could just relax for the rest of the night."

"You realize that I'm probably too tired for sex, right?" I say "And too pregnant."

"That's fine." He presses a kiss to my lips "I'm down for whatever you want or don't want."

"We'll aren't you sweet?"

"I try to be."

* * *

"So what are we having?" I ask as my husband sets a plate down in front of me "It smells delicious."

"Homemade pasta and chicken parmesan." He kisses my cheek before sitting down across from me with his own plate "With the good sauce."

"Well how can I say no to the good sauce?"

"You can't." He smirks

"So is dinner going to be followed by another sappy serenade, Monsieur Samuels?" I ask

"Not if you don't want it to be." He shrugs "But if you want, I can always whip up a sappy serenade."

"Do what you want." I chuckle "I won't argue with romantic."

We continue talking as we eat, remarking about how odd it is to be sitting in a quiet house by ourselves. The last time I feel like my life was this calm was before the triplets were born. Life is going to get a whole lot more hectic in a few months.

"How are tweedle dum and tweedle dee doing?" Trevor asks me

"Don't call them that." I laugh "How would you like it if someone was calling you that?"

"Oh alright." He smirks "How are junior and baby girl?"

"Junior and baby girl?" I repeat

"That's better, isn't it?"

"I guess." I chuckle "But why don't you just call them by their names?"

"Well it's not fair to call her by her name if he doesn't have one yet." My husband insists "I wouldn't want him to feel left out."

"We should probably name him then."

"You're sure you don't like Collin?"

"You're sure you don't like Tobias?"

"Touché." He sighs "Looks like we'll have to start from scratch with him."

"Looks like we will." I agree "What about-"

"Uh ah." Trevor stops me "Not now, not tonight. Tonight is for you and me. Don't worry about them right now, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you more."


	73. Chapter 73

_Jade's POV_

"And Trevor did this all by himself?" I ask, handing another onesie to my little sister

"He did." Ruby smiles, looking around at the nursery "He did a pretty good job, huh?"

"He really did." I agree "He seems to be quite the handyman."

"He is..." Ruby chuckles, looking down "He's proud as shit, too. He wants to make sure everything is perfect for his little babies."

"How long did he spend on this one?"

When Ruby was pregnant with the triplets, Trevor spent almost two weeks on their nursery.

"About a week and a half." She tells me "And I wasn't allowed to help him."

"Well, you're growing the babies. I guess he wanted to feel special too." I shrug

"Maybe." She smirks "How many left in that box?"

"Just two." I say, holding up the remaining onesies

The arrival of my new niece and nephew is quickly approaching and I can see the anxiousness in my sister's eyes. She's going to have two more little humans to take care of, in addition to the three slightly larger little humans she already has. Not to mention she has fans that she wants to satisfy, and a husband who she probably is going to want to spend some time with too.

I'm helping her sort, fold, and put away baby clothes. Some of it is left over from when the triplets were babies, but some of it is newly purchased for the twins. Ruby takes the two onsies from me and folds them, tucking them away in my nephew's dresser drawer. I grab the next box and open it, continuing the cycle.

"Mommy's Little Sunshine?" I raise an eyebrow at Ruby, holding up the bright blue onesie "Is this in the right box?"

"What?" She turns to look at me "Oh, yeah. That's right, that's a boy outfit."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." She nods

"You do know you're famous...right?" I ask her "People are going to take pictures of you when you go out places. People are going to take pictures of _him_ when you go out places. Those pictures will end up on the internet. And one day when he's in high school, people will whip out the picture of him in his 'Mommy's Little Sunshine' shirt, and that poor kid will never get to hear the end of it."

"You're a terrible person." She shakes her head, snatching the outfit away from me

"We'll see who the terrible person is in sixteen or so years." I tell her

"Whatever, Jade." She rolls her eyes "I feel like I have twice as many boy outfits as I do girl outfits."

"Maybe that's because you have twice as many sons as you do daughters?" I remind her

"That's crazy..."

"What's crazy?"

"That I'm twenty-nine years old and I'm going to have five kids before I'm thirty..." She laughs, shaking her head "No matter how real this gets, I can't seem to wrap my head around that fact."

"I get it." I nod "I'm not that much older and I can barely handle the fact that I have _three_."

"You started _way_ younger than I did though." She laughs

"That's true." I chuckle, handing her another outfit to put away

"How do you think Mom would be handing all of these grandchildren?" She asks, setting the outfit down and turning to look at me "Do you think she'd be embracing the whole 'Grandma' thing? Or would she insist that she's not old enough to have grandkids yet?"

"Uh..." I hesitate

I'm not really sure how to answer. I mean, my mother was killed long before she was ever able to meet any of her grandchildren. In fact, she had just had a baby herself, only a few short years before she died. So in my memory, she will always be preserved at that age, in that phase. I have no idea how she'd react to having grandkids.

"Well, let's see. Caleb would be seven, eight, nineteen? Turning twenty this year?" I think aloud "So her last baby would still be pretty young, and I'd feel like she would insist that she was still pretty young too...too young to be a grandma. But I think she would embrace the rest of it. I think she would absolutely adore our kids."

"I think she would too..." Ruby sighs, picking up the outfit again "And I think John would've made the _best_ Grandpa."

"He really would've..." I agree

John was always so great with kids. He just had...a way with them. I can't think of any other way to describe it. Even though biologically he technically wouldn't be my children's _actual_ grandfather, he would've completely embraced the role. The same way he embraced the role of being my father when my real one didn't come through.

Because let's be honest, even an idiot could tell that my biological father wasn't cut out for the role. I wouldn't even _dream_ of letting him near my children.

"They're watching out for us, Ruby." I remind her "Mom and John and Caleb."

"I know..." She smiles, brushing a tear away from her eye "I just wish they were here to watch out for us instead of up there."

"Me too." I nod, walking over to her and hugging her

She welcomes my embrace and we stand there, a couple of emotional fools, in the middle of the nursery for a long time. Eventually, Ruby's twins decide they've had enough of the pressure that my hug is putting on them, and one of them kicks to tell me to go away.

"Sorry, friends." I laugh, breaking away "I'll give you your Mommy back now."

"You felt that?" She asks

"Well not as strongly as you felt it, but a little bit, yeah." I nod "You might have a couple little karate kids in there."

"Yeah..." Ruby chuckles, running a hand over her bump "That's what I'm afraid of..."


	74. Chapter 74

_Ruby's POV_

"Should I bring my doggie?" Aaron asks, holding up his favorite stuffed puppy dog

"Can you sleep without him?"

"No..."

"Then I think you should bring him." I suggest

"Mommy can you get my pajamas for me?" Jonah tugs on my arm

"Ouch, Jonah no." I wince "You're a big boy, you know which drawer they're in. You can get them."

"But Mom!" He whines

"I'm not in the mood right now, Jonah Thomas." I warn him "TREVOR!"

We should have packed bags for them _weeks_ ago with everything they would need to spend the night at Beck and Jade's, with just a few things that would need to be thrown in at the last second. But we didn't do that, and now here I am, trying to help my sons' pack and manage contractions at the same time.

Thankfully, they're still mild, so I can manage. But my normal patience level is gone and I have next to nothing left to help me deal with these two.

"What's wrong?" Trevor rushes into the room

"Nothing is wrong." I assure him, sitting down on Aaron's bed "Just...can you help them?"

"Yeah of course." He nods "Come on guys, let's find some clothes to take with us."

"Is Liv packed?"

"Almost." Trevor tells me "Go lay down babe, when they're ready I'll come get you."

"No, it's okay." I wave him off "I'll just go make sure she's ready to go."

"And then you'll lay down?"

"Sure."

Olivia's room is right next door to the boy's, but the walk between the two rooms takes me almost twice as long as normal. I have to stop and lean up against the wall in order to let a small contraction pass.

"You all ready to go, baby girl?" I ask Olivia, entering her room and heading straight to sit on her bed

"Uh huh." Olivia responds, pulling the zipper closed on her overnight bag "Are you going to have the babies, Mommy?"

"Yes I am, silly goose." I chuckle "I already told you that."

I've had contractions since I woke up this morning, specifically around four in the morning, so it's been a long day so far. We called my doctor and they said that I'm about due for twins, so they want me to come in. Trevor and I say the kids down and explained what was happening, so that they wouldn't be scared about what was going on. They actually seem pretty excited.

They're going to have a sleepover at Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck's _and_ they get a new brother and sister? What isn't to be excited about?

However, we haven't told them that Jade is actually coming to the hospital with _us_ and that they'll be primarily with Beck for the night, but I don't really think they'll care.

"When do we get to meet them?"

"Hopefully very soon." I smile

"Mommy?" My little girl looks up at me with two very big, round puppy dog eyes

"Yes baby?"

"When the babies are born..." She pauses for a moment, looking like she's searching for the words she wants to come next "You...you and Daddy, you're still going to love us right? Me, and Aaron, and Jonah?"

"Oh Livy..." I smile "Of course we are! Daddy and I will love you more than anything for the rest of time."

"You promise?"

"Promise." I wince, leaning over slightly, trying to cope with the contraction that just hit me

"Are you okay?" Olivia's eyes grow wide

She looks scared, and that is my worst fear. I don't want her or the boys to see me in pain and be scared. That's why we're trying to get them to Beck and Jade's as quickly as possible.

"I'm fine, sweetie." I assure her, sitting upright again "Come on, let's go see if the boys are ready."

* * *

"How are they?" I ask

"For the millionth time this hour..." Jade laughs, shaking her head "They're fine. They're driving my husband insane, but they're not acting sad or nervous or scared at all."

"Thank god..." I sigh

I was worried about leaving the triplets with Beck, primarily because everything happened so fast this morning and Trevor and I didn't really have a whole lot of time to explain to them what exactly was happening. We went from 'the babies will be here sometime in the next few weeks' to 'hurry up, we have to go! The babies are going to be here sometime today or tomorrow!' literally overnight. And to three little kids who still don't fully understand what is happening, that can be scary and nerve wracking.

And poor Beck. He has four five year olds, a two year old, and Sophie to look after all on his own tonight. Granted, Sophie will probably be more of a help to him than she is a nuisance, but still. Six kids on your own is a lot.

"So..." Jade smirks, putting her phone back into her purse "A scan of social media says that a majority of your fans seem to have no idea that you're here."

At least there's still some sort of privacy in my life. Not that I would mind my fans knowing I was here, I love them to death and I honestly don't like to keep things from them, it's the rest of the world I don't want up in my business. No matter what, someone won't like the names we've picked, or the outfits they make their first appearance in, and Trevor and I will be slammed all over the internet. But honestly though, why do people care? These aren't their babies. They don't have to choose to listen to my music if they don't want to. Haters just confuse me.

"What do you mean for the most part?" Trevor asks as I grab his hand to breathe through another contraction "Woah, hey there, babe. It's fine...just take deep breaths, you're gonna make it through this."

"Well, some of them are starting to have their speculations." Jade explains "The last time Ruby went more than thirty six hours without tweeting was when she got back from her last tour and just slept for almost two days straight. They know something is up."

"They're...pretty...smart..." I choke, still trying to breathe "Trev, it hurts."

"I know, baby...I know." He frowns, pushing some hair back out of my face "But you're doing so good."

I barely experienced any contractions with the triplets, and the ones I did feel were very mild. By the time I got to the hospital they were already ready to deliver them via C-section and I didn't have to do any waiting.

"Just a little while longer..." Trevor whispers to me "They're almost here..."


	75. Chapter 75

_Jade's POV_

Being the older sibling is a difficult position to be in. Sometimes it's nice to see your younger sibling suffering a bit, but only if you're the one causing the suffering. If anybody else so much as lays a hand on them, you get protective and you pounce.

My poor baby sister has never been through a natural labor in her life. Her triplets were born at 35 weeks via C-section. So making it this far into a pregnancy and then having to deliver naturally has been an eye-opening and I think overall terrible experience for her. That part makes me sympathetic. However, I delivered all three of my kids naturally, Sophie was about two weeks early, Violet was a few days late, and Wesley was right on time. That part wants me to tell her to suck it up and power through.

But then she screams. And my heart breaks. Because after all the pain that my sister had to go through growing up, she's still going through more. The only difference now is that this pain has a happy result in the end for her, a new son and daughter. My nephew and niece.

Ruby lets out a long, drawn out cry as everyone in the room encourages her to keep pushing.

"I can't anymore." She shakes her head "It's too much, I can't."

"You've got it, kiddo." I assure her, squeezing her hand tighter "You're almost there. You're going to have a baby to hold soon. Think about that."

"_A_ baby!" She exclaims "One! I still have to push another one out after that! I don't think I can do this guys, I really don't."

"Superstar..." Trevor sighs, a smile on his face, wrapping both of his hands around his wife's "You are the strongest, most talented, bravest person that I know. There's not a doubt in my mind that you can make it through this. And Jade is right, think of the end results. Two perfect little babies that we get to take home with us and introduce to our other babies..."

"Trev..."

He leans forward and whispers something in her ear that causes her to smirk the slightest bit. She leans her forehead against his and he presses a kiss to her lips. I clear my throat and both of them shoot upright again; Ruby appears as if she's ready to keep going now.

"Let's just wait for another contraction..." The nurse tells her "Ready...? Push!"

Another long drawn out cry escapes my sisters mouth and I press a kiss to her hand to let her know that I'm still here for her. More rounds of encouragements come and come and come and then eventually, the sound we've all been waiting for fills the room.

A cry. The first baby's first breath.

"It's a boy!" Her doctor announces

"There's your son." I smile, rubbing her hand

"My son." She repeats, smiling

Trevor looks like he could cry as a nurse places the screaming little boy on my sister's chest. He's bloody and covered in gunk, but he's the cutest little thing I've ever seen, with the exception of my own children, of course. And my niece and nephews.

"He's definitely a singer's kid." I chuckle "Listen to the set of lungs he's got on him."

"Maybe he'll take after Ruby and become one of the world's biggest pop stars." Trevor laughs, wiping a tear away from his eye

"I saw that." I smirk

"I'm not hiding it." He tells me "That's my son. Look at how beautiful my son is."

He leans down and kisses Ruby, just as a nurse comes to take the baby away from her.

"So soon?" Ruby looks hurt

"You've still got one more baby to push out, honey." The nurse smiles, squeezing her shoulder before picking the baby up and whisking him away

"Do you want me to go with him?" I ask her "Or do you want me to stay here."

"Please stay." She begs, taking my hand again "He's got a million nurses with him, he'll be fine. I need you right now."

"Okay." I nod "I can stay."

Trevor kisses the top of her head and wipes the tears away from her eyes. Then he picks up a towel and wipes the sweat off of her forehead and face.

Trevor Samuels is a good man. A great man. He was practically a child when I first met him, and I've watched him grow up right before my eyes. My sister's is lucky to have him. I'm lucky my sister has him. Without Trevor, I don't know what she would have done.

"Alright..." The doctor says "Let's get that little boy his sister."

"Let's get Olivia her sister." Trevor nudges Ruby's arm

She smiles. That's a good sign.

I think delivering one baby has given her the confidence she needs to get the second one out.

"We've got another contraction coming, Ruby..." The nurse says "1...2...3...push!"

The second baby is out after five pushes. Easier than the but still not easy. Ruby is unable to control her emotions when her little girl is placed on her chest, a full stream of tears comes pouring out of her eyes. She kisses the girl's forehead repeatedly, whispering 'I love you, I love you' over and over again.

By the time they take the girl away from Ruby, the boy is cleaned up, tested, and ready to be held.

"He's perfectly healthy." The nurse tells Trevor as she passes him to him

"Did you hear that, baby?" Trevor moves his chair closer to Ruby so she can see the baby "He's healthy."

"Yeah." She smiles "I did."

I have to admit, Trevor looks proud as shit holding that little boy. And Ruby, although she looks exhausted, is beaming with joy.

"What about the girl?" I ask turning to the nurse "How is she?"

"She's still being tested." The woman tells me "But so far, she has a clean bill of health."

"Okay." I smile "Good."

There's two new, perfect, additions to our family


	76. Chapter 76

_**Two updates tonight in honor of sshaw101's birthday! Happy Birthday, Girly! I hope it was a great one!**_

* * *

_Ruby's POV_

I look down at the little girl resting peacefully in my arms.

Only three hours old, and she's already taken up so much of my love. So has her brother, who is in the arms of my older sister across the room, also resting peacefully.

I feel as if I should take this opportunity to rest as well, I'm absolutely exhausted. But I can't bring myself to. I want to see one of them open their eyes and really take in the world for the first time.

"Trev?" I whisper

"Hm?" He looks up from his clipboard

"Nothing..." I tell him "Never mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I smile, looking back to my daughter "I'm sure."

"Okay."

He picks his pencil and starts writing again. Watching him manipulate the pencil to form letters in his familiar slanted manuscript is so comforting to me. That same slanted manuscript has formed so many of the songs that I sing, left me love notes on the kitchen counter or on the bathroom mirror, and is now filling out my children's birth certificates, forming the names _Harrison Beckett_ and _Elena Margret_ on the forms.

Beckett after my brother-in-law, who didn't have to step in and play the big brother role, but chose to regardless, even before he and Jade were married. He put a roof over my head to protect me from my father, and after that, used the money that he made from his first few big movies to help send me to college. Even though I had a scholarship, there were still some expenses that needed to be paid, and Beck Oliver didn't even hesitate to take care of it. I owe him so much, and naming my son after him can't even begin to pay him back for everything that he has given me.

I will admit that Harrison might have a little something to do with Andre. I loved the name and when I suggested it to Trevor he agreed that he loved it as well. However, he pointed out that people, my fan's specifically, might over analyze the name and tie Andre Harris to Harrison, and would I be okay with that? Of course I was. Trevor was too. If Andre hadn't had so much faith in me at the beginning of my career, then I wouldn't be nearly as successful as I am today. I might not even _have_ a singing career.

Margret was my mother's name. She went by Maggie. Giving Elena her name for her middle one is my way of honoring her. I only knew her for twelve years, but I have nothing but positive memories of her. I want her to look down at us and smile, knowing that we haven't forgotten about her, and that she was important enough to me to name one of my children after her. There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about my mom and what it would be like if she was still here, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her.

Trevor and I plan on calling Elena 'Ellie'. The name will be cute when she's young, and grow with her as she turns into a teenager, and then an adult. When she's older, she has the more mature 'Elena' as an option if she chooses it. But to Trevor and I, she'll always be our little Ellie.

"He's awake." Jade chuckles, shifting Harrison in her arms as he begins to fuss "Shhh...don't worry little guy. Auntie Jade has got you. You're fine."

"Here, give him to me." Trevor extends his arms "He probably misses Ellie."

"I'd be freaked out too if I had spent nine months with someone and then all of a sudden they weren't there." Jade smirks, happily passing the baby "I want another turn later though."

"Of course." I smile "God...look at the two of them."

In a matter of hours, my life has completely changed.

_"Holy shit..." I breath out, staring at the three incubated cribs behind the nursery glass "Those are ours."_

_"They sure are." Trevor shares my disbelief, but turns to me smiling "We're parents."_

_He wraps an arm around me and pulls me close to him. I'm more than happy to lean against his body for support. After delivering three babies via C-section this morning, I have close to no energy left in my body._

_"Which boy is which?" I ask, snuggling my head into my husband's chest _

_"Um..." He moves us closer to the glass so he can read their ID charts "The one on the right is Aaron, and the one on the left is Jonah."_

_"And Olivia is on the end."_

_"And Olivia is on the end." He repeats, nodding "Thirty little fingers and thirty little toes. We got lucky."_

_"You can say that again."_

_"We got lucky."_

_"You're hilarious." I roll my eyes "Trev...?"_

_"Yes Superstar?"_

_"Do you think we'll be able to handle all three of them on our own?" I ask_

_"I think so, yeah." He grins down at me "And if for some strange reason we can't, we have Beck and Jade. And my parents are in the air on their way here as we speak."_

_I wish my mom and John were here to see my children._

_"What makes you so sure?"_

_"Because." He kisses my temple "If we've made it this far, we can handle whatever life throws our way."_

"They're perfect...just like their mom." Trevor smiles, leaning over to kiss me

"Well their adorable like their father." I blush "I can't wait to get the kids here to meet them."

"Me either."


	77. Chapter 77

_Ruby's POV_

_The door to my hospital room creaks open slowly, flooding the previously pitch black room with a quickly growing beam of light, pulling me from the painfully light sleep I had taken so long to fall into._

_I find it incredibly difficult to sleep in hospitals. The beds are uncomfortable, they smell like disinfectant, and there's always a nurse checking on you when you least want them to. _

_The light is almost blinding and my eyes don't have time to adjust as I squint to see who is trying to enter my room, but all I can see is a tall, dark figure standing in the doorframe._

_"Who's there?" I ask, my voice cracking _

_"Hello, Ruby." An all too familiar voice says _

_I'd know that voice anywhere, hearing it makes my skin crawl._

_"What the hell are you doing here?" I spit as my eyes start to adjust and I can see the figure more clearly _

_It's my father. _

_"I came to see my baby's babies..." He smirks, walking over to the plastic bassinets next to my bed where Harrison and Elena are both fast asleep _

_"Why?" I say "Twenty-nine years and you've never given a shit about my life. You don't care about them either."_

_"Don't be so dramatic, Ruby Kaitlin." He rolls his eyes "I figured you would have grown out of the moody teenager stage by now. Has being famous gotten to your head?"_

_"No!" I exclaim, slightly offended that he would ever suggest something like that _

_"I'm their grandfather..." He smiles at me as he reaches down into Harrison's bassinet to pick him up "Of course I care about them."_

_"Put him down!" I demand "Don't you dare touch my son!"_

_"My grandson." He repeats _

_I try to get up and take him back, but for some reason I can't move._

_"You're not his grandfather!" I cry out, thrashing in my bed "You're not even my father! You gave up that right a long time ago! I hate you!"_

_"That's an awfully strong insult to throw at the man who gave you life." He scoffs, turning away from me _

_"Where are you going?" I yell "Bring me back my son!"_

_"Oh Ruby..." He chuckles "You already have four kids...you won't miss this one..."_

_"Give him back!" I scream _

"Give him back!" I gasp, sitting up straight in bed

I immediately regret doing so. I'm still sore from my delivery and the sudden movement sends pain throughout the entire lower half of my body.

"Oh my god..." I pant, trying to catch my breath "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god..."

"Rube?" Trevor says quietly from his place on the couch next to my bed "You okay, Superstar?"

"Oh my god..." I repeat

In less than five seconds, Trevor is off the couch and at my side, his arms wrapped tightly around me.

"What's the matter?" He asks "Are you alright? What happened?"

"My...m-m-my dad." I stammer "Harrison! Where's Harrison?"

"Both him and Elena are in the nursery for the night..." He reminds me "They're perfectly safe. Why? What's the matter, baby?"

"I had a dream..." I tell him "My dad...he walked in here...and he tried to take Harrison from us!"

"Ruby..." My husband brushes a strand of hair away from my face and tucks it behind my ear "Your dad is dead. He's gone. There's no way he can hurt you anymore. He can't hurt anyone anymore."

Even sitting here in my almost entirely dark hospital room, I can still tell that he's looking me dead in the eye. Looking into his eyes has always been so comforting to me, no matter the circumstances.

"It just seemed so real..."

"I know, I'm sorry." He presses a kiss to my forehead "But don't worry, I'm here."

* * *

"Mom, are you sure you don't want to have any more of these?" Sophie asks, looking from Elena to her mother

"Positive." Jade chuckles "Sorry."

"Don't worry, Soph." I tell her "You can come get your baby fix at my house whenever you want."

"As long as you're not ditching school." Trevor adds

"Cool." Sophie smiles at me, then goes back to the conversation she had been previously having with my husband

Sophie had a half day of school today so Jade brought her to the hospital to meet her new cousins. Beck is at home with Violet and Wesley, and the triplets are still at school.

"No more kids for you?" I smirk at my older sister, who has positioned herself next to me on my hospital bed

"Nah." She laughs "Three is enough for me."

"I think we're done too." I admit, bouncing Harrison gently "At least, I hope we are."

"I think you've got your hands more than full right now." Jade says, turning to look at her daughter "You know, she's the same age you were when she was born. I'm having like a crazy deja vu moment right now..."

"I guess you're right..." I nod, quickly doing the mental math "I was fourteen, wasn't I?"

"Only for a few weeks, but yeah. You were."

"That feels like so long ago..." I admit

"You're not the one with the fourteen year old growing up right before your eyes." Jade reminds me "It seems like just yesterday you were her age and she was Ellie's size..."

"Yeah..." I smile, looking from Harrison to Elena and thinking of my triplets sitting in their kindergarten classroom "I guess they do grow up pretty fast."

"Faster than we want them to."

"You can say that again."


End file.
